Mini refinery for Cepu crude oil set to operate next week

A mini oil refinery currently being built by PT Tri Wahana Universal to process part of crude oil to be produced from the Cepu oil block in East Java is expected to begin full operation next week, Kontan reported on Wednesday.

Deputy for operation of BPMIGAS, the regulatory body for upstream gas and oil sector, Budi Indianto, said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the mini refinery which would process crude oil from the block?s Banyu Urip field was currently under a trial operation.

He said that Tri Wahana had promised to begin the full operation of the refinery on October 27. ?When the refinery begins its full operation, the crude oil production from the Cepu oil block could be increased to 20,000 barrels per day (bpd),? he said.

Budi said that the production from the Cepu oil block actually had the capacity to produce 20,000 bpd to meet the target set by the government, but was still unable to produce at its full capacity due to the lack of refinery facilities to process the crude oil.

At present, the block produces between 10,000 bpd and 14,000 bpd. The crude oil is processed at Pertamina?s offshore processing facility in Tuban. The newly operated refinery would process additional 6,000 bpd to be produced from the Banyu Urip field. (*)