Energtek in natgas deal with Indonesia's DML PTE

TEL AVIV, June 25 (Reuters) - Energtek Inc EGTK.OB, a U.S.-Israeli developer of natural gas storage technology, and DML PTE Ltd of Indonesia said on Wednesday they had formed a $25 million joint venture to commercialise the technology in southeast Asia.

Projects scheduled by the joint venture are quickly expected to surpass $100 million in revenue, the companies said in a statement.

The joint venture, Energtek Far East PTE, will enable vehicle owners and industrial businesses to use natural gas as an energy source in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, the companies said.

Energtek will own 51 percent of the joint venture and DML PTE, a flight operator and manufacturer of police patrol boats, will hold 49 percent. DML PTE will invest $2 million and has agreed to finance the operations with an additional $23 million.

Energtek is based in the United States but its research and development and part of its headquarters are in Israel.

Although Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Malaysia and Indonesia, Energtek Chief Executive Lev Zaidenberg said this has not been a major problem.

"People don't really care when it comes to business," he told Reuters earlier this week.

Several natural gas bulk transportation projects using Energtek's low-pressure mobile pipeline technology have been planned and will proceed to commercial stages in the coming months, the companies said. Other projects will focus on the conversion of vehicles to natural gas.

Energtek's technology reduces the costs of natural gas supply by storing more gas in a tank using lower pressures.

"The prices of oil and gasoline continue to rise, and countries such as Indonesia are now rethinking their national energy policies," said Pak Rusmin Widjaja, CEO of DML PTE. "As this happens, more and more consumers will switch to natural gas, which is an abundant regional resource." (Reporting by Tova Cohen; editing by Sue Thomas)