Oman interested to invest in RI refinery project
Saturday, August 13 2016 - 03:44 AM WIB
?They (the Oman firm) have expressed interest to invest in Indonesia (refinery project). We?re preparing the details, where they could be able to quickly develop (the refinery),? Rini said on Friday.
She said that Pertamina is currently studying the various possible locations including Bontang, in East Kalimantan, and Kuala Tanjung, in North Sumatra.
Pertamina President Director Dwi Soetjipto confirmed that the Omani company is considering to invest in oil refinery project in Indonesia. He said that aside from the aforementioned two locations, another potential location is in Arun, Aceh.
He said that regarding the government?s plan to build a 300,000 bpd oil refinery in Bontang, Pertamina is looking into the possibility for the government to change the current project scheme, which is a government-to-business cooperation scheme, which requires lengthy tender process by the government.
He said that to help accelerate the project, the government should instead assign directly Pertamina to develop the project, to allow the state firm to quickly seek a partner. If the scheme can be changed quickly, Pertamina can start looking for the partner in September, and finalized in February of next year to be followed with construction in the hope that the estimated US$10-12 billion refinery project could be completed in 2022.
The government is planning to develop a number of oil refineries in the country to help cut down fuel oil import volume. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said on Thursday that National Iran Oil Company has also expressed interest to develop an oil refinery in Indonesia, with crude supply coming from the country.
Pertamina has also signed an agreement with Russia?s Rosneft to develop an oil refinery in Tuban, East Java. (*)