Two investors plan two oil refineries in Lombok

Two investors plan to build two oil refineries in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), with a combined capacity of 300,000 bpd, Investor Daily reported Wednesday quoting head of the NTB province mining office I Nengah Sumastra. He said that total investments for the two refineries will reach up to US$3.2 million.

Sumastra said that the two investors PT Petroref Utama Nusantara (PUN) and PT Asia International Mandiri (AIM) will team up with an Australian partner. He did not name the Australian investor.

?The refineries will function as a transit facility, in which after (crude) is processed, it will be distributed for both export and domestic use,? Sumastra said.

He said that PUN and AIM had carried out initial study and obtained preliminary license for oil refining business from the directorate general of oil and gas, and also a governor decreed signed in 2005 for PUN and in 2006 for AIM.

PUN plans to develop the refinery in the southern part of Central Lombok, specifically in Merta Awang Ekas village, East Praya district; while AIM?s will be set up in northern part of Central Lombok: in Barong village, Bayan district.

?If it?s true that the two refineries will have combined capacity of 300,000 bpd, it will represent a third of the national fuel consumption,? Sumastra said.

He added that Lombok was considered strategic for fuel distribution center in the Asia Pacific region because its deep waters enable large oil tankers to pass by.

Elsewhere, Sumastra said that three investors including Easco East Sepanjang, Conoco Philips, and Husky Oil have expressed interest to explore potential oil and gas resources in the hydrocarbon-rich northern Lombok basin. The three are currently seeking license from the directorate general of oil and gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. **