Indonesia’s Pertamina Lubricants bares expansion plans

Pertamina Lubricants, a subsidiary of state-owned PT Pertamina Persero based in Jakarta, Indonesia, aims to expand lube production in the next five years, said Gigih Wahyu Hari Irianto, president director.

Currently, Pertamina Lubricants has two lube oil blending plants in Jakarta, one each in Cilacap and Surabaya, as well as a grease manufacturing facility in Jakarta.

To do this, the company plans to boost its market presence overseas. Irianto identified eight countries that will be the focus of Pertamina’s overseas expansion. These countries include Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore. Currently, Pertamina Lubricants operates in 15 countries. As of July this year, the company had revenues of IDR 1.15 trillion (USD 81 million), the Jakarta Post reported.

Eko Rizky Susanto, retail and marketing manager for Pertamina Lubricants’ passenger car motor oil product line, said that the company is especially trying to expand its presence in Cambodia. He said the company plans to use its Thai office as its base for expanding its market presence in Cambodia and other countries in IndoChina.

Pertamina Lubricants also seeks to cooperate with new partners in these markets to boost its market presence.

“For Singapore, for example, we are already strong in the marine segment. By forging new cooperation with firms such as those within cargo and receiver companies, we can fulfill our goal of strengthening our operations there,” said Irianto.

“For Cambodia, we are conducting our research, assessing with whom we can cooperate. I think the operations will be significantly underway by next year,” Susanto told The Jakarta Post.

South Africa is another market with a huge potential, Susanto said. Currently, Pertamina Lubricants sells only automotive lubricants in South Africa, but the Indonesian company says it wants to expand its market presence there as well.

The Jakarta Post reported that Pertamina Lubricants also plans to start producing lubricant additives, viscosity modifiers in particular, within the next five years.