Pertamina says Woodside LNG allocated for refineries

By Godang Sitompul

State oil, gas company PT Pertamina (Persero) said LNG purchased from Australian producer Woodside Energy will be used for its refinery projects.

VP LNG Didik Sasongko told Petromindo.Com on Wednesday that Pertamina allocated the LNG for new refinery projects and also for existing ones.

Pertamina signed long-term deal to buy LNG from Woodside starting 2019, ramping up to 600,000 tonnes of LNG to Pertamina from 2022 to 2034. Woodside will also have the option to increase that to 1.1 million tonnes a year from 2024 and extend the contract out to 2038.

Pertamina is planning construction of two new refineries in Bontang, East Kalimantan and Tuban, East Java and revitalization of existing ones in the next few years to secure domestic fuel supply, but the plan is constrained by financial capability. President Elia Massa Manik is quoted by media as saying that Pertamina is required to invest US$36 billion over the period of 7 years, which is beyond the company?s capability. He hinted that some projects will be delayed to give room for Pertamina to financially managed the projects.

Editing by Alexander Ginting