Pertamina to buy 140,000 barrels gasoline more in September

State oil and gas company Pertamina will import an additional 140,000 barrels of gasoline this month following a three-day repair of the Balikpapan refinery in East Kalimantan recently.

"This month Pertamina needs to import an additional 140,000 barrels (of gasoline) due to the problem last week at Balikpapan refinery," Achmad Faisal, Pertamina's marketing and trade director , told reporters, without elaborating.

Pertamina will also raise the supply of gasoline in the domestic market by 260,000 barrels in the weeks ahead to meet anticipated demand during the Ramadan fasting period and the post-fasting Idul Fitri national holiday in October, Faisal said.

Faisal didn't elaborate on the specific timing of the planned gasoline supply increase.

The Balikpapan refinery has a capacity of processing 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Pertamina plans to turnaround the refinery in February or March next year. (godang)