Chandra Asri mulls building a refinery plant

Indonesia-listed petrochemical firm PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk considers building an oil refinery and petrochemical plant to support the country?s growing petrochemical industry, Investor Daily reported on Monday.

?We are interested in such a project, and is looking for a partner,? Vice President Corporate Relation Chandra Asri Suhat Miyarso said in Jakarta last week. He acknowledged that such a refinery project which could cost up to US$8 billion would be quite complex not only because it requires a large investment, but also because it would need a sustainable supply of crude oil.

According to him, Indonesia would need at least two more oil refinery plants in order to be able to create a strong and integrated petrochemical industry. At present, Indonesia still relies on imports to meet the raw materials of the country?s downstream petrochemical industry.

Meanwhile, the company?s corporate secretary Suryandi said Chandra Asri was conducting a feasibility study on the company?s plan to expand the capacity of its petrochemical processing plant (cracker) from 600,000 tons a year to 820,000 tons a year.

?We hope the decision whether or not we will go ahead with the plan can be made in the first quarter, next year,? he said, adding the investment for the expansion project could reach $300 million and the project could take three years to complete. (*)