TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Directorate General of Oil and Gas has decided to cut back on Pertamina’s crude oil import quota for 8,000 barrels per day, or about 30 million barrels within this year.

The Task Executor of Oil and Gas DG, Djoko Siswanto, stated that the state energy company had absorbed 120,000 barrels per day from the Gas Cooperation Contract Holders (KKKS) quota.

“We have not managed to buy about 80,000 barrels. (Therefore), I will cut back 8,000 barrels from Pertamina’s crude (oil) daily import quota, throughout 2020,” said Djoko, in the 2019 performance presentation of Oil and Gas DG, on Tuesday, January 14, saying that it was done to encourage the company to be more aggressive in absorbing crude oil from the KKKS quota.

Previously, Pertamina would need around six to seven million barrels a month; the same figure as the previous year. The type of crude oil imported would be light and medium crude oil, aside from the Arabian light crude oil.

Based on the nation’s shipping, the state-owned firm imported three million barrels of Arabian light crude oil in a month, from the Middle East.

Furthermore, Pertamina’s Integrated Supply Chain Senior Vice President, Hasto Wibowo, has stated that his office will import as much as 950,000 barrels of crude oil monthly, from the United States.

Last year, it imported crude oil from the U.S. in June and November, at 650,000 barrels each shipment. The import of crude oil is to cover the needs of Cilacap Refinery.

“Next year, [the import] will be 950,000 barrels every month from February to June term,” he said.

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