Indonesia committed to extend the contract of gas export to Japan, starting from 2011, with the lower volume of 3 million tons per year, compared to the volume of the current contract of 12 million tons per year, Director of the state oil-and-gas firm Pertamina Ari Soemarno has said.

"The number of gas available for export now is about 3 million tons," Soemarno quoted by the Bisnis Indonesia daily as saying Saturday.

He said on Friday that the volume could be increased should there be development of a new block by Chevron company in deep sea.

The head of oil and gas watchdog BP Migas Kardaya Warnika said that regarding to the shortages of supply of gas to meet the government current contract of export to Japan, China's Taiwan and South Korea, the government offered options of solution, including decreasing the volume of export, finding a source of supply from other countries.

Source: Xinhua