Minister Of Energy And Mineral Resources Targets Dumai-Sei Mangkei Gas Pipe Project To Be Completed In 2027

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources wisely Tasrif (photo: Maria Trisnawati/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif revealed that the government is targeting the 400 KM Dumai - Sei Mangkei natural gas pipeline project to be completed in 2027.

The construction of natural gas pipeline transmission is part of the National Strategic Project (PSN) mandated in Presidential Regulation Number 109 of 2020 concerning the Third Amendment to Presidential Regulation Number 3 of 2016 concerning the Acceleration of PSN Implementation.

"2024 is currently in the preparation stage," said Arifin at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Office, Friday, January 5.

Arifin said that the completion of the Dumai - Sei Mangke gas pipeline project is part of an effort to anticipate excess natural gas, where there is a large gas potential in the Andaman Sea. So that it will be used for industries that need natural gas. "So later if there is gas, besides later to build fertilizer factories and also petrochemicals in dkkseumawe (Aceh) and the current area," he said.

The total budget that will be used for the construction of the Dumai-Sei Mangke gas pipeline is IDR 6.6 trillion, and will distribute natural gas potential from the Great and Andaman Working Areas (WK) in Aceh to be utilized in Java and Sumatra.

Arifin further said that if the Dumai - Sei Mangke gas pipeline project had been completed, the natural gas pipeline network would be connected from Aceh to East Java. Along with the completion of the Cirebon-Semarang (Cisem) Phase I natural gas pipeline which has been completed in 2023 and the Cisem Phase II natural gas pipeline which is scheduled to be completed in 2025.

If the natural gas infrastructure is connected, he continued, the community will also benefit from this, because it can be used for the construction of a household natural gas network (jargas) on the natural gas pipeline, to support LPG dependence.

"This is what we make easy in the future, so that it is affordable for the community, and the price can be competitive and can be cheaper than LPG," he explained.

It is estimated that there will be an additional 300 thousand recipients of the city gas network (jargas) in Cisem with 600,000 household connections (SR) and Dumai-Sei Mangke with 600 thousand SR. From this figure, it will reduce 3 kg LPG subsidies by Rp630 billion per year, and will save LPG import foreign exchange by Rp1.08 trillion per year.