Medco shuts down ethanol plant

By Ruli Setiawan

IDX-listed oil and gas firm PT Medco Energy International Tbk said Friday that its subsidiary PT Medco Ethanol Lampung has discontinued and closed down the operation of its ethanol plant in northern Lampung since October 16 of this year.

The company said in a filing to the Indonesia Stock Exchange that the move was taken due to insufficiency of sustainable feedstock supply of cassavas and molasses for the ethanol production.

?Having the ethanol plant closed down, the company has no more operating business unit in downstream sector, except minority ownership in PT Puma Medco Petroleum, a high speed diesel trading and distribution unit,? Medco said in the statement.

Earlier this year, Medco corporate secretary was quoted by this portal as saying that the company was in talks with a number of local companies to sell the Lampung-based ethanol producer, which operated a modern plant capable of producing industrial grade ethanol from cassava-derived starch as well as sugarcane molasses and a designed capacity of 180 KL per day or approximately 60,000 KL a year.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak