Pertamina says all refineries running normally

State oil and gas firm Pertamina said Monday its oil refineries were running normally and that it had delayed its plans to overhaul them as ordered by the government.

?All refineries are operating normally, and there will be no turnaround,? Pertamina?s deputy director of oil processing, H. Asyhab, told Petromindo.Com.

Last week, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro instructed Pertamina to stop shutting down refineries and had all refineries on standby at maximum production level until after the Iraqi war was over.

Pertamina was shutting down Balikpapan II refinery in East Kalimantan for 54 days starting early March, for routine maintenance. It has capacity to process 220,000 barrels per day (BPD) of crude.

The company also had planned to overhaul 125,000-BPD Balongan refinery in West Java in August.

Indonesia has nine oil refineries, all state-owned and operated by Pertamina.

Meanwhile, Asyab said that Pertamina and government officials were still discussing about the possibility of processing the country?s crude at overseas refineries.

He added that Pertamina top officials were scheduled to meet with Purnomo and his senior staff members late on Monday (today). (godang)