Elnusa to build $2.5b-$3b refinery
Elnusa to build $2.5b-$3b refinery
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A subsidiary of state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, PT Elnusa
Harapan, is studying the possibility of building a refinery with
a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.
The refinery, which would be expected to start producing
within four years, would cost between US$2.5 billion and $3
billion, Elnusa president director Rudy Radjab was quoted as
saying by Detik on Wednesday.
Rudy said two-thirds of the fuel products from the refinery
would be exported to China, while the rest would be used to meet
domestic demand.
"We have signed contracts with Sinopec and CNPC," Rudy was
quoted as saying, referring to the China Petroleum & Chemical
Corp. and the China National Petroleum Company.
The refinery would process some 100,000 barrels per day of
very heavy crude from Iran.
It is unclear from where the refinery would receive the rest
of the crude.
Rudy said the company would conduct a preliminary feasibility
study in the next two months and a more comprehensive one next
year.
Among the possible locations for the refinery are Banten,
Central Java and Riau.
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources' director of oil
and gas, Erie Soedarmo, said Elnusa had yet to submit a license
application for the refinery.
"They need to provide data on the financing and location to
get a permit," said Erie.
Indonesia will open the downstream oil and gas market to
private investors in late November, after Pertamina's monopoly in
the sector officially ends.
According to data from the energy ministry, PT Intanjaya
Agromegah and PT Berkah Refinerindo Utama have secured principal
licenses to build refineries capable of processing 300,000
barrels per day (bpd), in Parepare, South Sulawesi, and another
in Trenggalek, East Java, respectively.
Applications from seven other companies are currently under
evaluation. Also, a refinery with a capacity of 800 bpd in
Musibanyuasin, South Sumatra is under construction.
Pertamina also plans to build a refinery with a capacity of up
to 200,000 barrels per day in Tuban, East Java.
That refinery, to be constructed in cooperation with Sinopec,
will be used to process crude produced by the untapped oil-rich
Cepu block, located on the border between East Java and Central
Java.