JAKARTA, Jan 9 — Indonesia will open a tender in 2018 for the development of three pipelines to transport and distribute gas from the Natuna area to the island of Borneo, the chairman of the country’s downstream oil and gas regulator (BPH Migas) said today.

Natuna, between the Malay peninsula and Borneo, is home to several gas-producing fields.

The tender will be for a Natuna to West Kalimantan pipeline worth an estimated US$550 million (RM2.2 billion), a West Kalimantan to Central Kalimantan pipeline worth around US$516 million, and a Central Kalimantan to South Kalimantan pipeline worth about US$97 million.

The proposed pipelines would be for transmission and distribution, said regulator chairman Muhammad Fanshurullah Asa, noting that they would supply gas to power stations in West Kalimantan and the Ketapang industrial area. He did not give further details on the proposal. — Reuters