Pertamina won't renew accord to buy Angolan, Algerian oil

Pertamina won't renew accord to buy Angolan, Algerian oil

PT Pertamina, Indonesia's state oil company, said it won't
renew annual contracts to buy crude oil from Algeria and Angola
because prices are too high.

Pertamina buys 900,000 barrels a month of Saharan Blend crude
oil from Algeria's state-owned energy company Sonatrach and
950,000 barrels a month of Angola's Nemba crude oil from
ChevronTexaco Corp. The contracts end in October.

"The Saharan Blend crude oil doesn't suit our refineries and
the transportation is too expensive," said Ari Soemarno,
Pertamina's director of marketing and trading. "We won't renew
the Nemba contract because we have other competitive offers."

Jakarta-based Pertamina plans to replace the Algerian and
Angolan crude oil with Vietnam's Bach Ho, Thailand's Benchamas
and Brunei's Seria Light oil, Soemarno said. The company will
also seek bids from suppliers in Africa, he said. -- Bloomberg