Pertamina, Pupuk Indonesia sign MoU on petrochemicals

By Godang Sitompul

State owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero) and state owned fertilizer firm PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate in study on potentials of gas and coal-based petrochemical business.

The MoU was signed by Pertamina?s President Director Dwi Soetjipto and Pupuk Indonesia?s President Director Arifin Tasrif in the presence of Minister of State Enterprises Rini M. Soemarno, Pupuk Indonesia said in a statement on Wednesday.

The MoU also covers cooperation on ?synergy and knowledge sharing on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Operation and Maintenance (O&M), the statement said.

They will form a joint team for the purpose, comprising officials of both companies, with the following tasks:
- Study technical, commercial and financial aspects of plans to build gas and coal-based petrochemical plants
- Study synergy potential in EPC and O&M, which can be carried by optimizing assets and acquiring stakes in PT Rekasaya Industri.
- Share knowledge through consultation by both firms or affiliates
- Make reports and issue recommendations for both companies

It is expected that if feasible, both companies will form a joint venture on EPC and O&M business, the company said.

Pupuk Indonesia is the holding companies of ten state owned firms, involved in fertilizer, petrochemical and agrochemical, steam and electricity, transportation and distribution, trading and EPC. The ten companies are PT Petrokimia Gresik, PT Pupuk Kujang, PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur, PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda, PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang, PT Rekayasa Industri,, PT Mega Eltra, PT Pupuk Industri Logistik, PT Pupuk Indonesia Energi and PT Pupuk Indonesia Pangan.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon