Pertamina removes ICS?s role in fuel and oil procurement

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina has removed the role of its newly found business department Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) as the company?s arm in handling crude oil and fuel imports, Kompas reported Friday.

Pertamina?s President Director Karen Agustiawan said in Jakarta on Thursday that with the reorganization, all activities previously conducted by ISC in the procurement of fuel and crude oil would be handled by the company?s oil trading arm Pertamina Energy Trading Limited (Petral).

She said that ISC would be integrated into Petral as its market intelligence unit as the consequence of the reorganization. ?Petral should be able to resume its new activities no later than June this year,? she said, adding that ISC which was officially established only in September, last year would act as a ?think-thank? unit.

ISC was set up as part of Pertamina?s efforts to improve efficiency and transparency in the procurement of both fuel and crude oil.

ISC handled fuel procurement which was previously carried out by the directorate of marketing and commercial affairs of Pertamina and crude procurement by the directorate of processing affairs of the state-owned oil firm.

Pertamina?s management announced on Wednesday its plan to dismiss deputy director of ISC, Sudirman Said, saying that ISC need to be reorganized.

Pertamina imports about 35 percent of the country?s fuel needs which reach about 1.4 million barrels per day. The company also imports a part of the crude oil needed by its refinery plants. (*)