Pertamina to build two new fuel depots

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina plans to develop major fuel depots and pipelines worth US$145 million this year to maintain the security of fuel supplies in Java, according to company president Baihaki Hakim.

Baihaki said the company planned to build a new $60 million fuel depot in Cikampek, West Java, and a pipeline to connect the Cikampek depot with the Balongan depot in Indramayu, West Java.

He added that Pertamina would also develop another fuel depot in Gresik, East Java, worth $60 million and a pipeline from Rehulu in Yogyakarta, to Banyumas in Central Java worth $25 million.

"We have prepared a masterplan. We really want to secure fuel distribution in Java," he told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony Thursday.

He said that Pertamina would hold open tenders for all of the projects.

Baihaki said he expected the Cikampek project to be completed within the next two or three years as part of a bid to help secure fuel supplies for Jakarta.

"When it (the Cikampek depot) is completed, we're sure that we will always be able to ensure fuel supplies to Jakarta, even when there's floods," he said.

The recent flood disaster has sparked worries over the security of fuel supplies in Jakarta as the city mainly relies on fuel from the Plumpang depot in Jakarta and the Balongan depot.

According to Pertamina data, the Cikampek depot will consist of nine tank with a total fuel storage capacity of 26,000 kiloliters.

Pertamina has said it would invest billions of dollars in the upstream and downstream oil industries over the next five years as part of its effort to become a world class company amid ongoing liberalization of the country's oil sector.