Caltex interested in supplying fuel to RI

Caltex interested in supplying fuel to RI

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Oil producer Caltex has expressed interest in supplying and
retailing fuel here, and has submitted an application for a
business permit.

Erie Soedarmo, downstream oil and gas director at the Ministry
of Energy and Mineral Resources, said on Monday the company would
sell all types of fuel products, including transportation fuel.

"We are processing the application," he said, while declining
to say how long it could be before a license was issued.

According to a new oil and gas law enacted in 2001, state oil
and gas firm PT Pertamina will no longer hold a monopoly over the
refining, distribution and retailing of fuel, beginning in
November 2005.

Erie said that Pertamina would be directly appointed to
provide some 700,000 barrels of fuel per day -- roughly the
current output capacity of its refineries -- for domestic
consumption.

An additional 400,000 barrels per day needed to fill domestic
demand will be supplied by foreign suppliers through a tender, he
said.

The prices agreed upon with the suppliers may also serve as a
benchmark in the government's negotiations with Pertamina, he
added.

Currently, Pertamina is the sole player in the downstream oil
sector and operates under a cost-and-fee mechanism -- the
government pays the company fees for its services.

British energy giant BP Plc and Malaysia's Petronas are also
among the foreign investors that have shown an interest in
getting a piece of Indonesia's retail fuel pie. The companies
have made preliminary requests for business permits.

Energy minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has said the government
will not issue permanent business permits unless investors
complete several requirements, including building a certain
number of gas stations within a two-year period.