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Pertamina pushes exports of petrochemical products
Pertamina exported its maiden shipment of drilling mud, aka Smooth Fluid-05, on Thursday to its upstream subsidiary in Algeria.
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An attendant walks through a Pertamina gas station in Kuningan, South Jakarta. Pertamina on Thursday exported its maiden shipment of drilling mud to Algeria.
(The Jakarta Post/Seto Wardhana)
S
tate energy holding company Pertamina aims to further boost its exports of petrochemical products by tapping into the drilling mud business, the global market of which is projected to become worth more than US$10 billion within the next six years.
A consulting firm based in India and the United States, Grand View Research, has said the revival of bidding for new exploration and production (E&P) projects in the years to come would spur the growth of the market for drilling mud, aka drilling fluid. The company estimates that the world market for drilling mud would be worth $10.12 billion by 2025.
In the Asia-Pacific region alone, sales are projected to reach $1.5 billion by 2025 owing to growing E&P activities in countries such as China and Indonesia, the company said.
On Thursday, Pertamina exported it maiden shipment of 4,000 barrels of drilling mud called Smooth Fluid-05 (SF-05) to its upstream subsidiary in Algeria, Pertamina Algeria EP (PAEP).
The shipment departed from the firm's refinery in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, which currently has a refining capacity to produce 1.8 million barrels of SF-05 per year.
Pertamina corporate marketing director Basuki Trikora Putra said during a ceremony to mark the event on Thursday that the export value of the mud was more than Rp 10 billion (US$708,802). “It might be small in terms of value, but every big thing must start small, right? This is proof that our synergy among the subsidiaries is working,” he said.
The export, according to the company’s written statement, was jointly arranged by two of Pertamina's subsidiaries, namely Pertamina Lubricants and Petrochemical Trading.
