Government to hold tender of mini refinery projects end November

The government plans to hold tender at the end of this month to select contractors for the development of mini oil refineries in Cluster-VIII Maluku near the Oseil and Bula blocks.

Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja Puja said in a statement issued on Monday that domestic companies are allowed to participate in the tender, while foreign firms are not allowed.

He added that government decided to proceed first with tender for mini refinery projects in Maluku as 3-5 investors have expressed interest to develop the projects in the Cluster VIII.

Wiratmaja said that tender for mini refinery projects in seven other clusters will be held in 2017.

The statement said that oil production in Cluster VIII is around 3,000-3,500 bpd. If the combined capacity of mini refineries developed by the investors in the region exceed the oil output supply in the region, they will be allowed to import the required crude.

According to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No 22/2016, mini refinery has a maximum capacity of 20,000 bpd.

The statement said that the mini refinery projects will be developed in eight clusters including Cluster I-North Sumatra (Rantau and Pangkalan Susu), Cluster II-Selat Panjang Malaka (EMP Malacca Strait and Petroselat), Cluster III-Riau (Tonga, Siak, Pendalian, Langgak, West Area, Kisaran), Cluster IV-Jambi (Palmerah, Mengoepeh, Lemang and Karang Agung), Cluster V-Sumatera Selatan (Merangin II and Ariodamar), Cluster VI-Kalimantan Selatan (Tanjung), Cluster VII-North Kalimantan (Bunyu, Sembakung, Mamburungan and Pamusian Juwata), and Cluster VIII-Maluku (Oseil and Bula).

According to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No 22/2016, the mini refinery projects in the eight clusters will be either assigned to state-owned enterprises or private investors through tender to be financed by the state or business entity.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak