JAKARTA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Indonesia is forecast to be oversupplied this year despite of rising domestic consumption.
LNG outputs is estimated to be surplus about 3.2 million ton this year, senior analyst gas and power Asia Pacific Wood Mackenzie Edi Saputra disclosed on Tuesday.
The analyst explained that the production of LNG is projected to be 18.5 million tons this year and a total of 12.5 million tons of them will be exported, and 2.8 million tons for domestic consumption.
Last year Indonesia's domestic consumption of LNG reached 2.4 million tons as several power plants kicked off operation, according to him.
"Domestic consumption can hike this year because there are power plants start operating," he said at J.W. Marriot Hotel.
Indonesia shipped LNG to East Asia market, including China, he said.
Several contracts with foreign buyers, such as Japan and South Korea, which are not extended, have also factored to the restriction of exports, the analyst said.
Limited refinery facilities to channel LNG to end users have also hampered efforts to expand domestic consumption of the products, according to him.
The analyst urged the authorities to expand shipments of LNG overseas to reduce the oversupplied products.
Indonesia has a huge natural gas reserve of 104 trillion cubic meters, according to the country's upstream oil and gas regulator, SKK Migas.