RI has first export-oriented oil refinery
RI has first export-oriented oil refinery
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto finally dedicated on Wednesday yesterday the country's first export-oriented oil refinery at Balongan, West Java, after more than three months of delay.
Soeharto said that the operation of the newly completed refinery will play a vital role in the development of the country's oil industry.
"Besides having a large processing capacity, the refinery is also capable of producing environment-friendly fuel oil," he said in his address at the official opening of the Balongan refinery, which is also called Exor I.
The President was originally scheduled to inaugurate the refinery plant on Jan. 30 but damages taking place during the plant's trial operation caused the delay of its dedication.
The construction of the plant started in September, 1990 and was completed in August last year at a total cost of around US$2 billion.
The refinery, with a processing capacity of 125,000 barrels per day (bpd), is designed to produce 136,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), 186,000 tons of propylene per year, 54,500 bpd of aviation gas, 10,437 bpd of kerosene, 24,500 bpd of automotive diesel fuel, 14,890 bpd of industrial diesel fuel and 7,200 bpd of decant oil as well as 27 metric tons of sulfur per day.
Soeharto said that an additional supply of LPG from the newly completed refinery is expected to reduce the use of kerosene, which is still commonly utilized as cooking fuel in most parts of the country.
The government has set up two main programs in conserving fossil fuel energy such as through energy diversification and conservation.
"The concrete results of the energy diversification program is the increase in the use of natural gas and geothermal sources as forms of energy," the President said.
He said that there are abundant sources of natural gas in the country to support the energy diversification and conservation programs.
Small-scale natural gas wells such as those in West Java are developed for industrial and transportation and household use, while the production from larger ones such those in Bontang in East Kalimantan is used for exports, he said.
The diversification of the use of natural gas will indirectly raise the country's crude oil export capacity as the rise in the use of natural gas will significantly lower domestic demand for oil.
The Exor I project was constructed by the JGC Corporation of Japan at a cost of approximately US$2 billion, with financial assistance from Java Petroleum Investment Co. Ltd. -- a consortium grouping Mitsui Corp., Marubeni Corp., Sumitomo, C. Itoh & Co. (now Itochu) and 20 Japanese banks.
Pertamina currently operates refineries in Pangkalan Brandan with a processing capacity of 5,000 bpd, in Dumai of Riau with 170,000 bpd, in Musi of South Sumatra with 132,500 bpd, in Cilacap of Central Java with 300,000 bpd, in Balikpapan of East Kalimantan with 253,600 bpd and in Cepu of East Java with 3,800 bpd.
In addition to the Exor I plant, Pertamina also plans to build three other export-oriented refineries, including Exor II with a processing capacity of 120,000 bpd in Irian Jaya, Exor III with 120,000 bpd in Tanjung Uban of Riau and Exor IV with 140,000 bpd in Dumai. (hen)