Buana Listya secures $320 million contract

Shipping firm PT Buana Listya Tama Tbk, a subsidiary of PT Berlian Laju Tanker Tbk, will rent a floating offshore terminal to a coal mining company in Sumatra under a 20-year contract worth US$320 million.

The company?s finance director Kevin Wong said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the floating offshore terminal would have a capacity of about four million tons. He refused to name the coal miner but he said that it was located in Sumatra.

In addition, Kevin said Buana Listya was also currently negotiating two other contracts with ConocoPhilips and Bukit Tua for oil shipment. At present, the company has secured contracts from Pertamina, Kangean Energy and Shell. ?Pertamina contributes 45 percent, Kangean between 25 and 30 percent and Shell about 15 percent,? he added.

This year, Buana Listya will spend between US$400 and $450 million to buy new ships and for the modification of the existing ships. ?The company will use the proceeds of its recent initial public offering (IPO) and bank loans for the new investments,? he said.

Keevin said that Buana Listya planned to buy a floating production storage offloading (FPSO) and floating storage offloading (FSO) facilities as part of the company?s fleet expansion program.

The company would also modify its three oil tankers MT Badraini, MT Barawati, dan MT Bramani into FPSO and FSO units to meet the growing demand from local oil companies. At present, the company owns 21 ships including nine oil tankers, a FSO unit and two chemical tankers. (giok)