Minister of LH Gives SKKL for LNG Terminal Project in Bali

Minister of LH Hanif Faisol Nurofiq (ANTARA/Ni Putu Putri Muliantari)

BADUNG - Minister of Environment (LH) Hanif Faisol Nurofiq officially issued a Letter of Environmental Eligibility (SKKL) for the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal project in Bali.

"Regarding LNG, we have given the SKKL, this is based on the consideration of energy needs," he said on the sidelines of the cleaning action of the Kedonganan Beach, Badung, Friday, February 6.

The Minister of LH considers the development of an LNG terminal off the coast of the Sidakarya Village area, Denpasar, to be the fastest solution to maintain energy resilience in Bali if you look at Bali's experience of experiencing power outages for quite some time in 2025.

The issuance of the SKKL for the LNG terminal itself was not carried out by the LH Ministry alone, but was also based on cross-ministerial considerations, including the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

"We have experienced blackouts and Bali needs a stable energy supply, the fastest solution currently available is LNG," he said.

Minister Hanif explained that although the gas plant is not low carbon, the use of LNG is a transition step towards a cleaner energy system.

LNG is directed as low-emission energy, an alternative to bridging the energy transition.

"This does not mean low carbon, but low emissions, this is what we have to do for Bali, we have to be precise because Bali is a place where many people gather," he said.

When asked about the many refusals from the surrounding community of the planned LNG terminal, he stated that the socialization process had been carried out repeatedly, including through social coverage which took quite a long time.

"There have been meetings, socialization has been carried out many times, the social coverage process and the test have been running for three years, even the initial plan (LNG location) which is 500 meters from the coast has been withdrawn to 3.5 kilometers, it has been proposed as a maximum," said Hanif Faisol.

The central government's move to grant this permit is said to be proof of the government's support in the mission to achieve low-emission and low-energy-intensive Bali, while continuing to encourage increased use of renewable energy.

"We support Bali with low emissions, the important thing is that Bali should not be short of energy, while walking, renewable energy continues to increase," he said.

Although the SKKL has been given, the Minister of LH said that he had not had time to monitor the development of the LNG project in Sidakarya but ensured that the evaluation continued according to the stages.