RFCC Cilacap enters commissioning stage

State owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina (Persero) said on Monday the Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) facility at its Cilacap refinery in Central Java is now in commissioning stage and scheduled to start commercial operation in October.

Pertamina?s Processing Director Rachmad Hardadi said the construction of the RFCC facility has been basically completed. Most equipment have been brought into operation and startup and commissioning of all the facility?s equipment can be carried out before long.

The RFCC has 21 units of equipment, 20 of which have been put into operation. ?We hope all equipment to come into operation this month so that the facility can start production next month,? Rachmad said.

The RFCC Cilacap has the capacity to produce 37,000 barrels stream day of RON>93, Euro 3 Standard gasoline, 389,000 tons of LPG per year, 430 tons per day of propylene. The new facility will enable Pertamina to cut its HOMC import by 600,000 barrels per month and other products.

As feedstock, it will be supplied with Low Sulfur Waxy Residue (LSWR) produced from Crude Distillation Unit (CDU) II. The LSWR is processed into environmentally friendly, high-octane gasoline, LPG and propylene. ?The RFCC has thus a strategic value in the sense that it increases the economic value of the Cilacap refinery and reduce the nation?s imports, finally save our foreign exchange reserves,? he said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon