Pertamina shuts Sumatra refinery

Pertamina shuts Sumatra refinery

JAKARTA: PT Pertamina, Indonesia's state oil company, has shut down its 120,000 barrel-a-day crude oil distillation unit in Dumai, Sumatra for 21 days' maintenance.

The refinery, the island's largest, was shut on July 25, Suroso Atmomartoyo, Pertamina's Jakarta-based processing director, said on Thursday.

Pertamina delayed the work, earlier scheduled for July 5, because of a fuel shortage in the country.

"Fuel stockpiles have improved to 19 days of consumption, so we go ahead with the maintenance," Suroso said.

BIndonesia's fuel stockpiles have remained below the 21-day level needed to ensure supplies across the nation for six weeks, a shortage prompted by subsidized fuel prices and rising energy demand.-- Bloomberg