Pertamina to export lubricants to 3 more countries

State oil and gas company PT Pertamina will export its lubricants to three more countries China, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, to boost its international sales.

The company has targeted to sell between 125,000 and 150,000 kiloliters of lubricants overseas this year with Australia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates projected to become the largest consumers.

Pertamina lubricant marketing manager for overseas market Redesmon Munir said Friday that the company was now undergoing final preparations to penetrate the three new export destinations.

?For Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh we hope we can finalize the process next month while for China, we expect we can enter the market in June,? he told reporters at a media briefing at his office in Jakarta.

In 2010, Pertamina sold lubricant to 12 countries around the globe, including Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and the United States. The company sold a total 458,000 kiloliters of lubricant in the domestic and global markets in 2010. This year, the company targets to sell 546,000 kiloliters.

The bulk of the export sales, 95 percent, consisted of lubricants for automotive applications, while the remaining 5 percent was for industrial use.

Pertamina announced earlier that it planned to set up a lubricant plant in an Asian country with a total investment of around US$35 million.

The company is currently conducting feasibility studies in Japan and China to determine the best place to construct the plant.

Redesmon revealed that in the first quarter of this year, the company booked Rp 37.5 billion ($4.37 million) in unaudited gross profits from overseas lubricant sales. He said that during the period, the company?s revenues from lubricant businesses topped Rp 2 trillion.

?To optimize our lubricant business, we?re in the final phase of establishing a subsidiary company called PT Pertamina Lubricants, which is expected to begin operating in January at the latest,? he said.

The planned company was estimated to have total assets of Rp 1.5 trillion and would target to hold an initial public offering (IPO) two years after its establishment, he added.

?The IPO aims to improve the planned company?s performance. Once we?re listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange [IDX], our management will be more accountable and transparent because we have to be responsible to our shareholders,? Redesmon said.

However, he declined to reveal what percentage of the planned company?s stake would be sold to the public. (*)