Pertamina to launch Pertamax Turbo this month

State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina plans to launch a high-octane gasoline called 'Pertamax Turbo' at the end of July, The Jakarta Post reported Saturday.

Pertamax Turbo has a Research Octane Number (RON) of 98, higher than the existing Pertamax Plus, which has a RON of only 95, and high enough for racing cars fuel intake. However, it is below Pertamina?s existing fuel for racing cars, the 100-octane Pertamax Racing.

The paper quoted Pertamina President Director Dwi Soetjipto as saying that the new product was currently being tested in Italy and had shown good results. In the long term, the new fuel is expected to substitute Pertamax Plus.

"It does not mean we will stop Pertamax Plus sales after launching Pertamax Turbo at the end of July. We will make gradual changes," he said.

Dwi said the test was run in Italy because the country had a lot of supercars for test purposes, as well as test facilities. Moreover, Pertamina currently has had a sponsorship contract with Italian supercar manufacturer Lamborghini since January 2015. (*)