Indonesia to build three new refineries

To fulfill domestic needs, Indonesia will construct three new refineries in Cepu, Central Java; Bojanegara, Banten; and Musi Banyuasin, South Sumatra respectively.

The Cepu refinery with a processing capacity of 6,000 barrels per day (bpd) will use oil from the Cepu block`s early production and is expected to start operation in February next year, Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Evita H. Legowo said at the directorate general's website.

Meanwhile, the refinery at Musi Banyuasin with a processing capacity of 800 bpd will be funded by a local private company and the regional government, Evita said.

The refinery in Bojanegara will have a processing capacity of 300,000 bpd. It will be built by a joint venture between state owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina and Iran. Evita said she is still unsure whether this project can be materialized as planned.

Today, to fulfill domestic needs, Indonesia has only seven refineries with a capacity of less than 1 million barrel a day whereas the domestic needs is 1,4 million barrel a day. To cover the shortcoming, the government is forced to import 400.000 barrel a day. (*)