Indonesia to ask Iraq to resume sales
Monday, April 22 2002 - 03:13 AM WIB
Indonesian Mines and Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro will visit Baghdad to discuss oil imports from Iraq, a ministry official said yesterday.
Iraq, which normally exports about two million barrels of oil per day, suspended its exports on April 8 for a planned 30 days to protest Israel's troop incursion into Palestinian areas of the West Bank.
"The minister will fly to Iraq and is expected to arrive in Baghdad on Monday. Among the topics is Indonesian oil imports," one ministry official told Reuters.
An official of state oil company Pertamina said the firm badly needs Iraq's Basra Light to feed its Cilacap refinery in Central Java.
"Pertamina's refinery still has stock for Basra Light for about 10 days. We really need that type of crude to keep our refinery running," a Pertamina official said.(*)