Sempra Energy’s vision of becoming a gateway for liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the United States may be moving closer to reality following news of a deal with the BP plc and the world’s largest LNG exporter, Indonesia.

Just last month, Don Felsinger, who runs Sempra’s global enterprises unit, said the company was working with Indonesia on how the huge exporter could market its LNG in the United States (see Daily GPI, Nov. 24).

On Tuesday, Indonesia’s Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said BP would sign an agreement by mid-December to sell 3 million metric tons of LNG to Sempra from its Tangguh project.

BP Indonesia, which operates as a sharing contractor with Indonesia’s state-run oil company Pertamina, and Sempra would sign a head of agreement (HoA) on the LNG sale from the Tanguh field in Papua. Indonesia’s energy minister said he would attend the signing ceremony in the United States.

If the Sempra-BP project works, it would be the second of its kind involving Indonesian LNG in recent months. In August, Marathon Oil Co. obtained a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Indonesian LNG supplies for its proposed receiving terminal to be located on the Pacific Coast of Mexico (see Daily GPI, Aug. 28).

According to Marathon, the MOU with Pertamina and P. T. Exspan Tomori Sulawesi is for up to 6 metric tons of LNG annually for a 20-year period. The supplies could come from still-to-be constructed liquefaction facilities on Indonesia’s Sulawesi Island.

©Copyright 2003 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.