Pertamina orders new tankers

State oil and gas company PT Pertamina will order for eight oil and gas tankers this year in order to strengthen its business in the domestic market by 2009, the Investor Daily Indonesia newspaper reported in its Friday edition.

?From the eight tankers, six will be ordered from domestic builders and two from foreign countries,? the Antara news agency reported quoting Pertamina president director Ari Sumarno as saying on Thursday after signing an agreement on revitalizing national shipping industry at the office of Vice President.

According to Ari, from the six tankers, two will have 17,500-dwt capacity, two with 30,000-dwt and two others are LPG tankers which will have 5,000 cubic metric capacity.

Pertamina, he said, will order two 85,000-dwt tankers most probably either from China or South Korea.

Ari signed in front of Vice President Jusuf Kalla three agreements to buy three tankers. The cost of three tankers is US$81.82 million. Two tankers will be built by PT Dok dan Perkapalan Kodja Bahari and one by PT Dok dan Perkapalan Surabaya.

Ari said that the building of oil tankers will be expected to be completed by December 2009. Generally, the tankers will have a life of 25 years.

?Until 2012, Pertamina is planning to order 10 more oil tankers,? Ari said. (*)