Pertamina's extraordinary performance has received global recognition, including Pertamina being listed as the third-largest company in Southeast Asia according to Fortune 500 South East Asia.

Pertamina president director Nicke Widyawati revealed to chief editors of various mass media at the 2024 Pertamina Editorial Gathering event that digitalization and technological research have been the main keys to Pertamina's improved performance.

Pertamina could manage its upstream and downstream businesses in an integrated manner thanks to digitalization.

"We have started using AI to process and analyze data more quickly so that decisions can be made accurately," Nicke said.

Pertamina also continues to pursue research and develop technology to improve its high-value products. Pertamina controls 24 percent of the upstream oil and gas sector, and it contributes 69 percent of Indonesian oil production and 34 percent of the country’s gas production. The management of thousands of oil and gas wells, which has been connected to the downstream side of its business, is carried out by Pertamina using digitalization.

Pertamina’s upstream subholding company succeeded in increasing oil and gas production by 8 percent in 2023. In addition, Pertamina continues to increase new oil and gas reserves from both existing and new oil and gas blocks.

"It is extraordinary that Pertamina is drilling 800 new wells to increase oil and gas production, Because of that, 62 percent of Pertamina's investments were made in the upstream [oil and gas sector]," Nicke added.

The brilliant performance was also shown by Pertamina’s processing through its refining and petrochemical subholding company, which continues to maintain refinery productivity with a capacity of 1.025 million barrels per day (mbpd). This performance is extraordinary because the company’s refinery operations ran without unplanned shutdowns throughout 2023.

"This is not something sudden, but a five-year process where Pertamina has been revamping its refinery," Nicke said.

Pertamina has also carried out nine projects to increase productivity, energy efficiency and refinery capacity.

Nicke noted that Pertamina has succeeded in getting subsidized fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) quotas under control and increased sales of non-subsidized fuel by 2 percent, most of which was industrial, through the digitalization of the company’s commercial and trading subholding company.

"This means that it is productive in encouraging industries to grow better," Nicke said.

Pertamina International Shipping (PIS), Pertamina’s integrated marine and logistic subholding company, operates 760 vessels and continues to expand its international business. Currently, Pertamina operates 50 international shipping routes through PIS. The oil and gas volume transported through those routes increased 3 percent year-on-year (yoy) to 161 million kiloliters in 2023.

The business performance of Pertamina’s gas subholding company also showed excellent results. The unit’s gas sales volume rose by 3 percent yoy to 337,000 billion British thermal units (BBtu) in 2023.

Nicke said that gas is Pertamina's mainstay business in carrying out Indonesia’s energy transition, and the development of gas infrastructure will accelerate this transition.

"The key to the energy transition is gas because it is an intermediary from [non-renewable] fuel to renewable energy," stressed Nicke.

Pertamina also succeeded in increasing its clean energy production by 17 percent to 5,452 gigawatt-hours (GWh) through Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (PNRE), its power and new and renewable energy subholding company.

"Last year, PNRE succeeded in completing a gas project that was integrated with the largest regasification project in Southeast Asia, namely PLTGU Jawa 1 with two units that each have an 880 MW capacity," Nicke said.

On top of its positive performance, Pertamina also carries out its business processes from upstream to downstream in a more environmentally friendly manner. Pertamina succeeded in reducing its carbon emissions by 34 percent, higher than the 31.89 percent target set by the government. As a result, Pertamina's environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating was first in the world for the integrated oil and gas sub-industry.

Editors' forum chairman Arifin Asydhad expressed his appreciation for Pertamina's performance under Nicke’s leadership.