BP to submit Tangguh LNG expansion plan to Indonesia govt in Aug

SINGAPORE Aug 16 (Reuters) - BP PLC will later this month submit a plan to the Indonesian government to build a third liquefied natural gas (LNG) train, estimated to cost $12 billion, at its Tangguh plant, a senior company official said on Thursday.

BP and its partners in the project may take a final investment decision by the middle of 2013 for the new train to start operations in 2019, BP Asia Pacific Regional President William Lin said in an email to Reuters.

The third LNG train will have capacity of 3.8 million tonnes per year (tpa), he said, which would bring total output at the Tangguh plant in Papua Barat province to 11.4 million tpa.

Earlier this month, BP said it was working on a development plan for a possible third train at Tangguh.

As part of the expansion, BP signed in May an initial agreement to provide long-term LNG supply to Indonesia's state utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and to support PLN in providing electricity for Teluk Bintuni Regency in Papua Barat province.

BP holds a 37.16 percent stake in the Tangguh LNG plant which it operates, and which began working in mid-2009.

Other Tangguh shareholders are MI Berau B.V., CNOOC Ltd , Nippon Oil Exploration (Berau) Ltd, KG Berau/KG Wiriagar, LNG Japan Corporation and Talisman Energy.