Pertamina delays Banten refinery plant talk

State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina has decided to put on hold its plan to build a refinery in Banten due to insufficient crude oil and gas supplies, Kontan reported Saturday.

 

Suroso Atmomartoyo, Pertamina's Director of Processing, said in Jakarta Friday that all the negotiations with the company's potential partners in the refinery project had been also halted.

 

Rudi Radjab, President Director of Pertamina's subsidiary Elnusa, which was assigned to handle the refinery project, said that Pertamina and the Iranian government as one of major investors in the project would meet in Taheran in August to finalize the negotiation on the construction of the US$5.6 billion refinery.

 

Suroso said that Pertamina would need at least a year to decide whether or not it would go ahead with the plan. But he guaranteed that the project would be go on.

 

Earlier, JSX-listed oil, gas firm PT.Medco Energi Internasional Tbk. announced that it is interested to take part in the 300,000-BPD refinery along with Malaysian firm SKS Ventures Sdn. Bhd.

 

A number of firms had planned to build refineries in Indonesia, but none has been realized due to several obstacles, including  lack of incentives, swelling costs, low margin and lack of long-term crude supply. (godang)