Cilacap RFCC starts producing HOMC

State owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero) said the Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) facility at the Cilacap refinery in Central Java produced its High Octane Mogas Component (HOMC) on Sept. 30, 2015.

Vice President of Corporate Communications Wianda Pusponegoro said the startup occurred at 7.25 p.m. on the day. At 11 p.m., the RFCC facility started producing HOMC with an octane content of more than 93.

?After producing the first HOMC drop on 11 p.m, the RFCC can now produce at 70 percent of its 37,000 bpd capacity, higher than the initial projection of 25 percent. In view of this progress, the RFCC Cilacap is now ready for inauguration,? Wianda said.

Most of the HOMC production is processed into Premium gasoline. At present, the Cilacap refinery produces 61,000 bpd. With the RFCC having come into operation, the refinery?s Premium gasoline production capacity will rise by 30,000 bpd to 91,000 bpd.

Aside from HOMC, RFCC Cilacap will also produce LPG and propylene. The refinery?s LPG production will increase to 1,066 tons per day thanks to the RFCC, while propylene is a new product of the refinery. The new facility is able to produce 430 tons of propylene per day.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon