Registration for the tendering process is open from 16-27 January, according to the agency's chairman Tubagus Haryono. The gas pipeline project, estimated to be worth $1.47bn, will connect gasfields in East Kalimantan with Central Java by 2009. It is expected to supply 1bn cuft/d of gas from gasfields run by contractors such as Unocal Indonesia and France's Total SA, Haryono earlier said. In August, state gas distributor PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN) and China's CNOOC SES Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding to put in a joint bid for the gas transmission project. "PGN will join the tender", PGN corporate communication officer Agus Dihardjo said at the time. He said PGN would prefer to build and operate the pipeline itself, but may need a partner to help fund the project. The MoU with CNOOC does not stipulate each company's stake in the project, so PGN may still find other partners, he added.