Pertamina plans to import jet fuel
Pertamina plans to import jet fuel
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned oil company Pertamina will import
jet fuel to supply domestic needs, Pertamina's president Faisal
Abda'oe announced yesterday in response to the seven oil storage
tanks that were destroyed by lightning in Cilacap, on the
southern coast of Central Java.
"In addition, jet fuel for Central Java will be shipped from
refineries in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan and Dumai, South
Sumatra," Abda'oe said after inspecting the damage on Wednesday.
He said for the time being jet fuel for Central Java will be
supplied from Surabaya, East Java, while kerosene, gasoline and
automotive diesel oil will be derived from the Lomanis Terminal
near the Cilacap refinery.
The fire on Tuesday destroyed seven of the 156 storage tanks
in Cilacap, causing a loss of 32,000 kiloliters (kl) of jet fuel,
19,372 kl of kerosene and 4,378 kl of naphta.
Abda'oe said that the Cilacap refinery will resume jet fuel
production within three months after the three jet fuel tanks are
rebuilt.
He said the refinery is expected to resume the production of
automotive diesel oil within three weeks from now and kerosene
within two months.
The Cilacap refinery, which has two units with a total
refining capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, is Pertamina's
biggest refinery.
Pertamina currently has nine refineries with a combined
refining capacity of 985,000 barrels per day, but domestic needs
are partially met with kerosene and automotive diesel oil
imported from Singapore.
Abda'oe said the total losses caused by the fire were
estimated at Rp 75 billion (US$33.3 million) in terms of the
seven tanks, fuel oil stocks and other assets.
All losses will be covered by the state-owned insurance
company PT Tugu Pratama Indonesia, he said.
Two storage tanks in Cilacap were still ablaze yesterday.
Meanwhile, a Pertamina executive was quoted by Reuter as
saying in Singapore yesterday that Pertamina will maximize jet
fuel output at two oil refineries, Dumai and Balikpapan, to cover
for shortages following a fire at storage tanks at Cilacap
refinery.
Processing at the Dumai facility in Sumatra will be raised to
its full capacity of 120,000 barrels per day (bpd), from its
current running rate of 80 percent, he said.
The Balikpapan refinery in Kalimantan is already running at
full capacity of 253,600 bpd, but production of jet fuel or
aviation turbine fuel would be optimized, he added.
He said whether or not production at the 125,000-bpd export-
oriented Balongan refinery, West Java would be raised to full
capacity is still being considered. Balongan is now running at 80
percent of capacity.(04)