SK Corp., Pertamina sign base oil JV deal

South Korean chemical and refinery firm SK Corporation announced on Sunday it had signed JV agreeement with state oil and gas company PT. Pertamina to build US$175 million Group III base oil plant in Pertamina-owned Dumai refinery in Riau with the capacity of 7,250 BPD.

Under the agreement, SK Corp. is in charge of marketing in global market, outside of Indonesia and PT Pertamina is in charge of marketing in Indonesian domestic market.

SK Corp. and PT Pertamina also signed a MOU states that the two companies will work closely together on a variety of upstream, downstream, trading and other projects.

Group III base oil is developed using an advanced technology which yields higher quality oil that is saturated and pure, with very low volatility and high viscosity index. With over 50 percent of the global market share, SK Corp. leads the commercial market for group III base oil.

Construction of the Indonesia-based base oil plant is slated to begin this summer for its completed in the 1st Half of 2008. When completed, the SK Corp. /PT Pertamina facility will produce 7,250 barrels per day, which will help meet growing demand all over the world. (alex)