Indonesia to more than double LNG prices at Tangguh

JAKARTA, July 1 (Reuters) - Indonesia's energy ministry will more than double the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Tangguh plant, operated by Britain's BP (LSE: BP.L - news) , a government official said.

Indonesia will raise gas prices to $8 per million metric British thermal unit (mmbtu) from $3.30 currently when crude oil prices are $100 per barrel.

If crude prices rise to $110 a barrel, the gas price will increase to $8.65 mmbtu.

"Yes, that gas price ($8 per mmbtu) is the minimum for 2014," said Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero.

China's Xinhua news agency said the prices would keep rising based on the Japan Crude Cocktail (JCC) or the average price for customs-cleared crude oil imports, which is used in the formula for determining gas prices.

The Tangguh project is Indonesia's third LNG hub and produces up to 7.6 million tonnes of LNG a year from its two existing liquefaction trains, and supplies customers in Indonesia, South Korea, China, Japan and the United States.

Work is underway to develop a third train at the facility, which BP expects to begin delivering gas in 2019. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini)