Pertamina, SK Corp to jointly build lube plant

PT Pertamina and Sun Kyong Corporation (SK Corp) of South Korea will join forces to build a lube based oil plant in Dumai, Riau province,with total investment of about US$150 million, Investor Daily reported Friday.

Pertamina's president director Widya Purnama said in Jakarta on Thursday that the head of agreement on the construction of the lube based oil plant was signed in Hong Kong early this month.

He hoped that the ground breaking for the construction of the plant could be carried out in April, this year. "The new plant will provide more raw materials for the production of Pertamina's lubricant oil both for local markets and exports," he said.

At present, Pertamina produces about 550, 000 tons of lube based oil a year or equivalent to about 46,000 tons per day at its Cilacap refinery plant in Central Java. (*)