Minister welcomes Saudi Aramco?s investment plan

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said welcomes the plan of Saudi Arabian oil giant Saudi Aramco to make major investment in Indonesia?s downstream sector, including in the oil fuel retail sector, in partnership state owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero).

He said the chance for both firms to set up partnership is big. ?In the global setting, it (the partnership) is something normal,? he said on Monday after receiving a courtesy call by Dubai Port Corporation.

He warned however that Saudi Aramco should follow the existing regulations and must prioritize the national interest.

He said aside from investing to build refineries in Indonesia, Saudi Aramco wants to cooperate with Pertamina in petrochemical, storage and oil fuel retails. The firm plans to invest a total of US$24 billion, $10 billion of which will be used to build a new refinery with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in Tuban, East Java; $14 billion to modernize three refineries owned by Pertamina in Dumai, Riau; Balongan, West Java; and Cilacap, Central Java to increase the refineries? capacity by 400,000 bpd. The projects will thus increase the national?s refinery capacities by 700,000 bpd.

He said the country would not experience an oversupply as a result of the additional capacity, citing projection that the national oil fuel demand will reach 2.5 million barrels per day in ten years.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon