Pertamina wants to process East Natuna crude oil at own refineries
Friday, September 2 2016 - 01:11 AM WIB
State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina plans to process the government?s share of the crude oil output from the planned development of the East Natuna block, in Riau Islands Province, at its domestic refineries.
Vice President of Pertamina?s Intergrated Supply Chain (ISC), Daniel Purba said that if the output is light crude, it can be processed at the Balikpapan, Dumai or Plaju refinery. But if its heavy crude, it can processed at Balongan or Cilacap refinery. ?If it is of the sour type, it can only be processed in Cilacap,? he told Petromindo.com on Thursday.
He said that the share of the output belonging to its foreign partners will probably be processed in other countries.
Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, IGN Wiratmaja Puja said recently that the production sharing contract (PSC) for the East Natuna block was expected to be signed in September in a bid to help speed up production of the block.
He said that the government has assigned state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina to develop the block, and the company can seek partner. Earlier reports said that Pertamina plans to team up with among others ExxonMobil to develop the oil and gas block.
He said the government wants to quickly start production in East Natuna as the block holds huge reserves, and in a bid to help maintain the country?s sovereignty amid fears that other countries may stretch their borderlines if East Natuna is not immediately developed.
A source told Petromindo.com on Thursday that interim Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Luhut Panjaitan in a recent meeting with ExxonMobil officials conveyed the message of President Joko Widodo for immediate development and production of the East Natuna block.
The East Natuna block, formerly called D-Alpha, is estimated to hold up to 200 tcf of gas reserve, the largest gas reserve ever found in Indonesia. However, only 46 tcf of the gas is said to be recoverable due the high CO2 element contained in the reserve.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak