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