Pertamina starts processing crude from Iraq at Shell?s refinery

State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina has started this month processing crude oil it gets from Iraq at a refinery in Singapore owned by Shell, Investor Daily reported on Tuesday.

This was said by Pertamina President Director Dwi Soetjipto late last week. ?We?ll optimize it again in August,? he said.

As has been reported by this portal earlier this month, Pertamina has chosen Shel?s refinery in Singapore to process its crude from West Qurna 1 in Basra, Iraq. The Basra crude does not meet the specifications of domestic refineries.

Senior Vice President Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) Daniel Purba said the volume of crude to be supplied by Pertamina to the Shell refinery reaches 1 million barrels per month. The crude is expected to be processed into LPG, jet fuel, diesel oil and other petroleum products. All the output will be brought into Indonesia to meet the domestic demand.

In the first stage, Pertamina will lease the refinery for the period of July-December 2016. If the deal proves profitable for Pertamina, the firm will likely extend the leasing contract. (*)