Pertamina, UOP sign agreement on refinery feasibility study

State owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero) has signed an agreement with UOP LLC, a subsidiary of American firm Honeywell, to carry out a bankable feasibility study on Pertamina?s Road Map for Refinery Development.

The bankable feasibility study will be partially funded with a grant amounting to US$1.07 million from the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). Meanwhile the Road Map for Pertamina?s Refinery Development will be used by the state owned firm as the basis to develop itself into a world class downstream business, Pertamina said in a statement on Monday.

Pertamina?s President Director Karen Agustiawan said the national demand for oil fuels increased by 8 percent annually over the past five years and the demand is estimated to grow at least 5 percent in the next five years. Demand for petrochemical products has also been growing due to the growth of manufacturing sector. Indonesia?s petrochemical market value is projected to reach $30 million in 2018 and Pertamina expects to control 30 percent of the market share.

?Thereby, Pertamina needs to modernize its downstream infrastructure to meet the ever-increasing demand for either energy or petrochemical products in Indonesia. With the Road Map, we expect to boost our national energy resilience and reduce Indonesia?s reliance on imports,? she said.

According to the statement, Pertamina now operates five big refineries with a total capacity of 1.035 million barrels of oil per day, the largest capacity in Southeast Asia and the fifth largest in Asia. This could become a comparative advantage for Pertamina to reach the target of becoming a major player in the sectors of energy and petrochemical in Indonesia and the region.

UOP is a world leading provider of refinery and petrochemcial technology and is the major licensor of the technology used in Pertamina?s refineries. Pertamina has been cooperated with the firm for four decades.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon