Pertamina, Sonatrach to discuss oil deal

State oil and gas company Pertamina expects to close a deal in two months to buy one million barrels of Saharan blend crude from Algerian's state-owned oil company Sonatrach per month for a year, an official with Pertamina said Tuesday.

Baihaki Hakim, Pertamina's president director, said officials from Pertamina and Sonatrach will discuss the matter again in Jakarta in the near future, following his visit to Algeria in April.

"We are expecting their arrival here," he told journalists.

Baihaki said the crude would be used to feed Balikpapan refinery in East kalimantan.

Sonatrach will also study the possibility of entering Indonesia's retail fuel industry, he said, without elaborating further.

Pertamina has been importing 1.8 million to 4.5 million barrels of West African crudes on a monthly basis, via spot purchases, for at least a year.

For June delivery, out of the 4.5 million barrels of African crudes Indonesia had purchased on a spot basis, 1.8 million barrels comprised Saharan Blend crude.

Aside from Algeria, Pertamina is also keen to secure term sweet crude from West Africa, China and other parts of Asia to meet domestic refineries' requirements. (godang)