Pertamina eyes petrochemical plants

State oil and gas firm PT Pertamina said it was eager to buy several petrochemical plants under the management of PT Perusahaan Aset Negara (PPA) as this will help make the company's business more integrated, Bisnis Indonesia reported Saturday.

The plants that Pertamina eager to buy include PT Tuban Petrokimia Industries (TubanPetro), PT Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama (TPPI) and PT Polytama Propindo.

"The possibility of (buying these companies) remains under study. We have to know whether we have the right or not. We will consult on this with the government, whether we have a priority," Pertamina's president director Ari H Soemarno said in Jakarta Friday.

"We will see the possibility of participating in further developing the existing plants or refineries. This is easier than building new petrochemical plants," he said.

However, he said, careful study has to be conducted before deciding to buy the plants.

Around 70% of TubanPetro is owned by the government of Indonesia. The other shareholders of the Tuban complex are Pertamina, Itochu Corporation, Tuban Petrochemicals Pte Ltd (a subsidiary of Thailand's largest conglomerate Siam Cement PCL), and Sojitz Corporation (formerly Nissho Iwai Corporation).

The Tuban petrochem plant has a combined capacity of 3.6 million tonne per annum (TPA) of petrochemicals products, comprising 1 million TPA of aromatics (500,000 tonne paraxylene, 200,000 tonne benzene, and 150,000 ton toluene), 1 million TPA of naphtha, and 1.6 million TPA of kerosene and diesel. (*)