Indonesia's natural gas sales to Japan's utilities may tumble 75 percent under a 10-year, 25 million metric ton contract that reflects the Southeast Asian nation's dwindling reserves of the fuel.
State oil company PT Pertamina will propose slashing the supply when existing contracts with Japanese utilities expire starting in 2010. The proposed reduction is subject to final ratification, Daniel Purba, head of LNG market development at Pertamina, said in an interview.
Indonesia, the world's second-largest exporter of LNG, has failed to meet commitments to some Asian customers since at least 2002 as reserves in several fields declined faster than expected and domestic demand rose.