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)