Indonesia prepares incentives for oil refinery investors

Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said it is preparing a series of incentives to lure investors to build oil refineries. These incentives could include scrapping tariffs and guarantees on refinery contractor loans, Director General for Oil and Gas Evita Legowo said. The measures are still under deliberation with the Finance Ministry. The ministry is also considering establishing an agency tasked with finding appropriate locations for the refineries and handling issues related to land acquisition, which have been major obstacles in fuel refinery development projects. Separately, PT Pertamina Chief Executive Officer Karen Agustiawan said that Indonesia will have to spend about US$5 to 8 billion to develop enough refineries to reduce reliance on gasoline imports. (April 29/ May 2, 2009)