Indonesia expects to have gas road map in months

The Indonesian government targeted to set up a national gas road map in months to come as part of efforts to establish the national gas policy, official disclosed here on Friday.
Deputy Minister for Energy and Mines Susilo Siswoutomo revealed that the mapping of supply and demand of gas across the vast archipelago country would be conducted soon.
At the same time, the reviews on the regulations in gas sector and its infrastructures as well as the management on gas prices would also carried out, he said.
"Our target is that we will have a road map (of gas) in the next several months," he revealed at the energy and mines ministry.
He said that the next government was expected to use the map and continue the works to establish the national gas policy, referring to the termination of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono 's administration in October.
The planned national gas policy aims at meeting the domestic gas demand by tapping fully into the potential of the country's gas supply, according to the deputy minister.
Indonesia has abundant gas reserve of 104 trillion cubic, and hence the government decides to shift the energy reliance to gas from oil whose reserve stood at only 3.7 billion barrel, according data from oil and gas upstream rego oil and gas watchdog, SKK Migas.
To stabilize gas prices, the deputy minister said that a state gas procurement agency would be set up in the near future.
"Going forward, we hope there will be an agency, the procurement agency for gas. It must be established," said Susilo.
Indonesia's territory consists of a chain of 17,500 islands where the gas sources are scattered unequally across the islands, according to him.
With moderate economic growth, the Southeast Asia's largest economy witnesses a 10-percent energy demand growth annually.
So far Indonesia, which is a net oil importer, heavily depends on the fossil fuel imports, significantly widening its trade deficit.