Pertamina posts profit of $314m
Pertamina posts profit of $314m
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina announced on Tuesday
that it had posted a net profit of Rp 2.61 trillion (US$314.46
million) for the first six months of this year.
Pertamina finance director Ainun Naim did not give comparative
figures for the same period last year, but said the firm expected
to book a Rp 13 trillion in consolidated profit this year, lower
overall than the level in 2002.
Pertamina booked a consolidated profit of Rp 14.12 trillion
last year, up 33 percent from Rp 10.37 trillion in 2001.
"It is slightly lower than 2002 but overall Pertamina's
business is stable," Ainun Naim told reporters.
Ainun would not give further details, but acknowledged that
Pertamina needed to boost investment activities to increase
revenue in the future.
Pertamina is set to become a limited liability company at the
end of this year which means the company will lose some of its
privileges from the government.
Pertamina will also have to face competition in the oil and
gas downstream sector which will be liberalized in 2005.
"There is not much room left for improving efficiency.
Pertamina now has to increase activities to boost revenue,
particularly with the deregulation measures in the downstream
sector," Ainun said.
Ainun said the company was confident that it could register a
15 percent annual growth in profits within the next five years.
"Pertamina can build business margin. We are optimistic
because we have a comparative advantage over new players," he
said.
According to Ainun, the first semester profit was mainly due
to higher sales of non-fuel products such as lubricants, and
gains from improved efficiency in several units.
In the downstream sector, the company reported that it had
found new oil reserves totaling 283 million barrels of oil (MMBO)
and 3 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas in 2002, raising its oil
reserves for this year to 960 MMBO, and gas to 8.8 TCF.
Crude oil and gas production reached 29.37 MMBO and 258.33
billion standard cubic feet (BCF) respectively, last year. Most
of the gas was sold to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plants,
state gas firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), cement factories,
steel makers, fertilizer and petrochemical firms.
In the upstream sector which consists of marketing, storing,
production and retailing, Pertamina last year managed to process
373 million barrels of crude oil, higher than the initial target
of 359 million barrels.
As for marketing, Pertamina had sold 268.5 million barrels of
fuel.
"This was caused by increased demand from the transportation
sector, the manufacturing industry and PLN" Ainun said, referring
to the state-owned electricity company.
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina announced on Tuesday
that it had posted a net profit of Rp 2.61 trillion (US$314.46
million) for the first six months of this year.
Pertamina finance director Ainun Naim did not give comparative
figures for the same period last year, but said the firm expected
to book a Rp 13 trillion in consolidated profit this year, lower
overall than the level in 2002.
Pertamina booked a consolidated profit of Rp 14.12 trillion
last year, up 33 percent from Rp 10.37 trillion in 2001.
"It is slightly lower than 2002 but overall Pertamina's
business is stable," Ainun Naim told reporters.
Ainun would not give further details, but acknowledged that
Pertamina needed to boost investment activities to increase
revenue in the future.
Pertamina is set to become a limited liability company at the
end of this year which means the company will lose some of its
privileges from the government.
Pertamina will also have to face competition in the oil and
gas downstream sector which will be liberalized in 2005.
"There is not much room left for improving efficiency.
Pertamina now has to increase activities to boost revenue,
particularly with the deregulation measures in the downstream
sector," Ainun said.
Ainun said the company was confident that it could register a
15 percent annual growth in profits within the next five years.
"Pertamina can build business margin. We are optimistic
because we have a comparative advantage over new players," he
said.
According to Ainun, the first semester profit was mainly due
to higher sales of non-fuel products such as lubricants, and
gains from improved efficiency in several units.
In the downstream sector, the company reported that it had
found new oil reserves totaling 283 million barrels of oil (MMBO)
and 3 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas in 2002, raising its oil
reserves for this year to 960 MMBO, and gas to 8.8 TCF.
Crude oil and gas production reached 29.37 MMBO and 258.33
billion standard cubic feet (BCF) respectively, last year. Most
of the gas was sold to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plants,
state gas firm PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), cement factories,
steel makers, fertilizer and petrochemical firms.
In the upstream sector which consists of marketing, storing,
production and retailing, Pertamina last year managed to process
373 million barrels of crude oil, higher than the initial target
of 359 million barrels.
As for marketing, Pertamina had sold 268.5 million barrels of
fuel.
"This was caused by increased demand from the transportation
sector, the manufacturing industry and PLN" Ainun said, referring
to the state-owned electricity company.