Malaysia's Tenaga Nasional in LNG purchase talks

Malaysia's power firm Tenaga Nasional is expected to begin talks with liquefied natural gas suppliers, including Shell and Total, for gas supples, media reports said.

The company said it is ready to purchase gas for power generation at open market prices upon completion of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) regassification terminal in Melaka by 2012.

The move to buy gas comes as state oil firm Petronas cut its subsidised gas allocation to Tenaga due to a domestic shortage, forcing the power company to import costly distillates that have eaten into its profits.

The company did not provide a timeline for gas supply contracts to be signed or indicate how much gas it is seeking to buy.