Indonesia granted the LNG business a last-minute reprieve on Mar. 31, when it exempted the oil and gas industry from new rules requiring exports of key commodities to be financed by letters of credit (LC). The rules had been due to kick in on Apr. 1 and had not only upset buyers, but also prompted warnings from state Pertamina that they might disrupt LNG exports. The change of heart was announced by the energy ministry, which had been lobbying for the exemption. Following a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Energy Minister Sudirman Said said that "in principle, we have decided to exempt exports of oil and gas from the trade ministry regulation of payment by LC.... Any export of oil and LNG [will be made] without an LC until further notice." WGI understands that about two April cargo loadings had already received individual exemptions as the energy ministry lobbied for the full exemption. Said added that "we have no problem exporting LNG at the moment because our LNG buyers are credible and any export of LNG has been recorded by [the central bank] and also by upstream regulator SKK Migas."
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