Cilacap refinery project enters AMDAL stage

Cilacap refinery

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina said it has recently started the process of making the required environmental impact assessment (or AMDAL) for the planned Cilacap oil refinery expansion project in Central Java.

Project Coordinator Syaiful Gozali said in a statement Tuesday that the company held late last month public consultation meeting for the planned project as part of the AMDAL process.

He said the estimated US$4.4 billion project is targeted to be completed in 2021. "Once completed, it (Cilacap refinery) will be the largest in Asia," he said.

Pertamina earlier said the AMDAL is expected to be completed in July, and groundbreaking in the fourth quarter of this year.

The upgraded Cilacap refinery is expected to be operational in 2022 with an increased production capacity of 400,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from 340,000 bopd.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak