Govt prepares incentives for refinery builders

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has already prepared a package of incentives to attract investments to build oil refineries.

The incentive proposal will be submitted to the Ministry of Finance for approval.

“We have already submitted several incentives (schemes), but they are given by the Ministry of Finance,” Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said after meeting a delegation from the Japan’s Ministry of Economic, Trade and Industry (METI) on Monday in Jakarta.

Purnomo said that these incentives will be expected to support the government’s policy to produce 80 percent of the fuel needs from the domestic refineries.

"That's why, we want to push to speed up the building of refineries like the one in Tuban and the expansion of Balongan refinery. We will give more incentives,” Purnomo said.

Meanwhile, director general for oil and gas Iin Arifin Takhyan said the incentives will be in the form of fiscal policy.

"We have already sent a letter to support the incentives like tax concessions , some kind of tax holiday. But I have not yet read the scheme thoroughly that's why I don't know much about their format," Iin said.

According to Kurtubi, an expert on oil and gas industry, Indonesia needs at least four oil refineries with 200,000 barrels per day capacity each to become self sufficient in oil by 2010.(godang/dino)