Pertamina launches e-tender system

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina has received bids from four companies to supply hydrocracker catalyst for a refinery at Dumai in Riau province in an open tender using the e-tender system.

Within one week of the launch of the system, the company said one of the participants had submitted a bid that was about 20 percent higher than the guide price of US$3.3 million.

"Using the e-tender system, the process is faster and more efficient," a statement from the company released over the weekend said, without naming the firm that had submitted the highest bid.

The four companies are PT Aditya Nugraha Pratama, PT Elnusa Harapan, PT Indhasana and PT Gamareksa. The four went through a process of administrative examination before submitting electronic bids to Pertamina.

Pertamina will announce the winner soon, pending further administrative processing.

State-owned companies have begun using the e-purchasing system for some of their transactions to help ensure transparency and avoid corruption, collusion and nepotism.

State power utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has launched a similar system for its procurements.