Pertamina to set up new subsidiary

State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina plans to set up a new subsidiary called PT Pertamina International Downstream Services (PIDS), which will run the company?s new downstream business of supplying fuel for ships in the Malacca Strait, Investor Daily reported on Tuesday.

The paper quoted Pertamina President Director Dwi Soetjipto as saying that PIDS is expected to be set up in September in the hope the company could start running the new business later in the year.

Dwi said that Pertamina aims to grab between 5-10 percent of the bunker fuel market in the Malacca Strait currently dominated by Singapore.

Pertamina Marketing Director Ahmad Bambang said that PIDS will become the operator of the Sambu Island Fuel Terminal, which is scheduled to start operation in July, and Tanjung Uban Fuel Terminal, which will start operation in October, to facilitate the bunker fuel business in the Malacca Strait. (*)