Jambi, KL firm plan refinery

JAKARTA (JP): The Jambi provincial administration signed on Wednesday a preliminary agreement with Malaysian oil and gas firm Sikap on the development of an oil refinery in the province.

The agreement was signed by governor Zulkifli Nurdin and Sikap's operational director Zainal Osman in the provincial capital of Jambi, according to Antara news agency.

Zulkfli said the plan for the development of the refinery had been approved by the central government.

The refinery was planned to have a processing capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, 30,000 bpd of which would be taken from the province's oil production and the remaining 70,000 bpd to be imported from countries like Kuwait, China and Iran, he said.

He said the development of the refinery was estimated to cost US$1 billion.

Present at the agreement signing ceremony were oil and gas companies operating in the province, including American firm Santa Fe Energy and Canadian firm Gulf Indonesia Resources. (jsk)