Pertamina, Kuwait sign Balongan refinery expansion deal

State oil and gas company PT Pertamina has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the expansion of Balongan refinery in West Java with Kuwait Petroleum International Company (KPI), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

?Both parties will jointly carry out a pre-feasibility and feasibility study for an investment opportunity in Indonesia for the proposed new Balongan refinery with a capacity of 200,000 to 300.000 barrel per day (bpd), integrated with Petrochemical complex located in West Java, as well as downstream marketing activities,? Pertamina said in a statement on Friday.

The MoU was signed on Thursday by KPI President Hussain Esmaiel and Pertamina CorporateSVP for Investment Planning and Risk Management Feredrick Siahaan. The event, which took place in the KPI head office in Kuwait, was attended by KPC CEO Saad Al-Shuwaib, and Pertamina CEO Karen Agustiawan.

The MoU marks the first step in further expanding the existing cooperation between the two companies to new levels and towards a new era in the development and realization of their long term strategy, the statement said. (bernard)