ESDM Ministry to Accelerate Refinery Development Project
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2 November 2019 17:15 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM) will accelerate its development of the state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina's refinery in relation to the increasing consumption of fuel. Currently, put of four development projects, only two have been commenced, which are the Balikpapan Refinery and the Cilacap Refinery.
ESDM Minister Arifin Tasrif said that the refinery projects, which are developed in cooperation with Saudi Aramco, needs to be accelerated. Arifin added that he is ready to provide support to Pertamina to expedite the refinery project.
Arifin also admitted that the need of fuel will continue to increase as demand increases. However, construction and development of refineries require stages of planning and therefore, cannot be completed in a short time.
Nevertheless, Arifin stated his optimism that the project will be finished in the next 5 (five) years. "The RDMP [refinery development master plan] is certainly probable, it is certainly can be completed," he said.
Currently, the Balikpapan Refinfery project has entered its construction stage. Pertamina had also signed Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd, Hyundai Engineering Co. Ltd., PT Rekayasi Industri, and PT PP Tbk.
Meanwhile, for the Cilacap Refinery project, Pertamina is still conducting negotiations with Saudi Aramco as its parter concerning asset valuation needed to establish a joint venture company.
Based on Pertamina's data, the Balikpapan Refinery phase I and Balongan Refinery phase 1 will be operational in 2023. At that time, the capacity of company's refinery will increase from 1 million barrel per day, to 1.1 million barrel per day.
Meanwhile, the Cilacap Refinery is targeted to be operational in 2025. Finally, Pertamina's Balikpapan RDMP phase 2, Balongan RDMP phase 2, and Balongan Petrochemical refinery are targeted to be completed in 2026.
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