Cilacap refinery can?t process crude oil from Indonesian fields: Official

The government has been reminded not to allow Cilacap oil refinery in Central Java, the country?s largest oil processing plant, to process crude oil from the country?s oil fields because technically it only fits with light crude oil from the Middle East.

?Very possibly, crude oil from our production sharing contractors can not be processed at Cilacap plant,? BPMIGAS deputy chairman Kardaya Warnika told Petromindo.Com Tuesday.

Kardaya was responding to Oil and gas Director General Iin Arifin Takhyan who said Monday that the government was considering buying crude oil from production sharing contractors operating oil fields in Indonesia in the event war breaks out in Iraq. Another alternative of maintaining enough fuel supply in on the domestic market is make crude processing deals with overseas refineries, Iin Arifin added.

Indonesia has for years imported the Bashra light crude oil from Iraq to feed the Cilacap refinery, which supplies fuel across Central Java and East Java.

Indonesia currently has nine oil refineries, all operated by state oil and gas firm Pertamina. (godang)