Govt gives green light for refinery project in Arun
Friday, September 13 2013 - 07:03 AM WIB
The government has given the green light for the plan to build a crude refinery at the Arun LNG plant complex in Lhok Suemawe, Aceh, according to a senior official at state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina.
?The government approval was expressed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono during his visit to the plant last month,? Salis Aprilian, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Operation Management at Pertamina?s gas directorate, said on Friday.
He said the project development plan will be included by the National Planning Board (Bappenas) in the mid-term national development plan of 2014.
The idea of building a refinery at the LNG plant complex originated from Iqbal Hasan Saleh, an Aceh native, the president director of PT Arun NGL.
?Of all the locations proposed for the new refinery, the Arun LNG plant complex is considered the best, either in terms of support facilities, such as staff housing, office, land availability or infrastructure supports such as ports.
?There isn?t yet any definitive cost calculation. But, it is certain that the costs of building a refinery at Arun will be lower than the one elsewhere,? he said.
Should the refinery project be realized, the Arun LNG plant will thus turn to be a complex consisting of refinery and gas regassification facilities. The Arun LNG plant will see all its LNG export contracts expire in 2014.
Editing by Johannes Simbolon