The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has planned to supply electricity needs for processing and refining facilities (smelters) in Sulawesi by converting coal to gas.
“The plan is for the gas from the Makassar Strait to be piped to Palu. Here we will build a gas power plant in Sulawesi,” ESDM Minister Arifin Tasrif said on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
The gas allocation of 337 Million Standard Cubic Feet per Day (MMSCFD) obtained from the end of the Donggi Senoro natural gas contract in 2027 can be used for the new Wellhead Gas Steam Power Plant (PLTGU) with a capacity of 1,800 Megawatts (MW).
In addition, the potential of natural gas through piped gas from the ENI Muara Bakau Field in the Makassar Strait of 500 MMSCFD can be used to build a new PLTGU in Palu with a capacity of 2,650 MW.
“LNG under Donggi Senoro’s natural gas contract has always been exported. So, we ask that the production be also allocated for domestic use. After that, we will build a gas generator and draw the network so that this can support the carbon reduction program in the smelter industries,” Arifin said.
Electricity from the two PLTGUs is distributed to supply the Huadi cluster smelters in South Sulawesi, Pomala-Ceria (Poci) and Konawe-Morowali in Southeast Sulawesi.
“If the gas price for the two PLTGUs follows the HGBT of around US$6/MMBTU and toll-free transmission of US$3.88/kiloWatt per hour (kWh) with an electricity price of around US$11/kWh, then it is quite competitive,” Arifin said.
Currently, the government requires an investment of US$14 billion (Rp226 trillion) to meet the electricity needs in Sulawesi until 2030. The investment includes US$10.7 billion for generators, US$2.3 billion for transmission, and US$1 billion for substations.
Meanwhile, Sulawesi requires electricity for the largest smelter until 2030, reaching 11,139MW.
“The need for smelters currently reaches 20GW and is met through PLTU. Well, we will try to provide clean energy for this and also as part of the energy transition,” he said.
According to Arifin, smelters are industries that require large amount of energy. In Sulawesi, a smelter area of only 4,500 hectares (ha) requires almost 7 Gigawatts (GW) of electrical energy.
