A plan to build S. Sulawesi oil refinery might fail

South Sulawesi administration said that a plan to build an oil refinery in the regency of Pare-Pare might not be able to be materialized due to the uncertainty about prospective investors that will finance the project valued at around Rp 50 trillion (1US$= Rp 9,215), Investor Daily reported Friday.

Head of South Sulawesi Energy and Mining Office Sampara Salman said in Makassar Thursday that up to now, prospective investors of the project, PT Intanjaya Agromegah Abadi (IAA) in partnership with Texas-based Inter Global Technology (IGT) have yet to decide whether their investment plan (for the construction of the oil refinery) will be materialized or not.

IAA and IGT have formed a joint venture company, PT Kilang Minyak Intan Nusantara, to develop the project. Under the business plan, the two companies will build a crude oil refinery with a capacity of 30,000 barrel per day (bpd).

In Feb 2006, IAA officially launched the construction of its oil refinery plant at the Bacukiki district in the regency of Pare-Pare. The president director of IAA Mappasule said that it was expected to start commercial production in 2010. "The refinery will produce kerosene and diesel fuel for both exports and domestic market," he said on Feb 17, 2006. (*)