Indonesia's Oil Refinery Project Capacity Recognised Globally, Superior Human Resources the Key

Indonesia’s capacity to independently construct oil refineries has gained global recognition, driven by the competence of its local engineers. In the early 2000s, national contractors began successfully building refineries independently, such as the Langit Biru Balongan project, the Merah-Putih refinery, and the Recycle Offgas to Propylene (ROPP) project.

According to Triharyo Soesilo, known as Hengki, only a handful of countries possess engineers capable of independently building oil refineries, and Indonesia is one of them. With the ambition to challenge the dominance of foreign contractors, Hengki and his colleagues at PT Rekayasa Industri (Rekind) boldly succeeded in constructing an underwater gas pipeline crossing from Sumatra to Java. They subsequently dominated the construction of Geothermal Power Plants (PLTP), projects also handled entirely by Indonesian engineers.

“Both of these technologies were previously controlled by foreign contractors and had never been undertaken by national contractors,” Hengki stated on Friday, July 3, 2026. He acknowledged that one of his toughest challenges came when he was assigned by the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises and the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources to serve as President Commissioner of PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (PT KPI). The goal was to accelerate the completion of Pertamina’s refinery projects, such as the RDMP Balongan and RDMP Balikpapan projects.

Upon receiving the assignment in mid-June 2020, Hengki realised that Pertamina’s refineries were experiencing severe fires almost every three months. He and his team moved swiftly, and the entire PT KPI management successfully mitigated all causes of the fires one by one, coinciding with the completion of Pertamina’s refinery projects. Hengki’s experience in solving various large-scale project problems and his strategies for dominating the market have been documented in his book titled “Ilmu Menerobos Sumbatan” (The Science of Breaking Through Blockages).