Indonesia plans to begin constructing a 245-kilometer (152-mile) gas pipeline in Java in July to plug the gap between excess supply in the eastern part of the island and buyers in the west, an energy ministry official told Reuters on Wednesday, according to Natural Gas World.

The construction is expected to last for 17 months, according to Laode Sulaeman, a director at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, extending the 60-kilometer gas pipeline already constructed in the first phase.

When completed, the pipeline will transport gas from producers in eastern Java, Indonesia's most populous island, to industrial hubs in the west. 

According to SKK Migas, Indonesia's upstream oil and gas regulator, eastern Java's gas producers will have excess output until at least 2035 due to saturated local demand, according to a statement Wednesday from deputy Kurnia Chairi.

Chairi added that eastern Java is expected to have a gas surplus averaging 90 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) this year alone. Surprisingly, western Java faces a deficit estimated at 144 MMSCFD.