Pertamina to hold talks with Singapore Friday

The state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina is expected to hold another round of talks with Singapore Friday to discuss the details of its crude processing deal, according to company public relations officer Toto Soeparto.

He said that the talks would include technical matters, processing schedule, the level of octane and fee.

Toto said that the Singapore refinery is expected process some 100,000 barrel of Pertamina crude per day. But he said that it was still not clear which type and quality of Pertamina's crude would be suitable to be processed at the Singapore refinery.

Toto said that the crude processing deal with Singapore was part of Pertamina's new strategy to ensure domestic fuel supply which was recently disrupted by the breakdown in the Balongan refinery.

There has now been concern that domestic supply particularly in the eastern part of the country would be disrupted again following this week explosion at the Balikpapan II refinery. (--R. Amoros--)