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Pertamina to increase fuel imports to compensate for refinery repairs
State oil and gas company PT Pertamina will raise its fuel imports by 60 percent for a month starting August to compensate for a pause in production at its Cilacap refinery in Central Java
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State oil and gas company PT Pertamina will raise its fuel imports by 60 percent for a month starting August to compensate for a pause in production at its Cilacap refinery in Central Java.
"We will overhaul our refinery in Cilacap in August and this will halt its production for about one month," director for marketing Ahmad Faisal said after attending a Tuesday discussion on fuels imports.
Pertamina will increase its imports to match the amount that would be produced during the period at the Cilacap refinery, Faisal said.
The Cilacap refinery produces 350,000 barrels per day (bpd), 60 percent of which contain fuels, including premium and kerosene, and the rest asphalt and oil-based lubricants.
Last year, Pertamina imported 321,000 bpd of crude oil and between 300,000 and 350,000 bpd of fuel to help meet domestic demand of one million bpd of fuel. The country's six refineries have a combined production capacity of 652,000 bpd.
Faisal said the Cilacap refinery was Pertamina's only refinery that produced asphalt, and that the company would increase its asphalt imports according to match the refinery's output capacity.
Domestic consumption of asphalt is 1.2 million tons per year, he said, adding that Pertamina's asphalt production is 600,000 tons per year.
Pertamina is considering reducing its asphalt production because the commodity generates lower profits compared to fossil-based fuels, which are the companies main products, he said.
The current market price of asphalt is US$160 per tons, while fuel prices are within range of $400 per ton, he said.
"We will evaluate the future of our asphalt production. If we see that fuels bring us more profit we will increase their production and import tin. Our target is maximizing profits," Faisal said, adding that private sectors were also allowed to import asphalt.
Pertamina plans to import 600,000 three-kilogram liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks from Malaysia as part of the government's plan to replace kerosene usage with gas usage, he said.
The conversion program demands 40 million LPG tanks this year, more than half of which would be supplied by domestic companies, Faisal said.
Pertamina has obtained a permit to import 6.5 million LPG tanks, Faisal said.
