Pertamina signs deal with Petronas

PT Pertamina signed a deal with Malaysian national oil company Petronas to jointly expand the output capacity of two key refineries wholly owned by the Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company. The expansion will boost the average daily output of Dumai refinery in South Sumatra and Balikpapan refinery in Kalimantan by 20%. The upgrade of the two oil refineries will start in 2007 and is expected to be completed by 2011, Pertamina President Director Ari Sumarno said. Dumai refinery currently produces 120,000 barrels per day (BPD), while Balikpapan’s output is 260,000 BPD. The cooperation with Petronas is part of Pertamina’s five-year plan to increase the output of its refineries, for which it aims to spend as much as US$18 billion, Sumarno said. (August 23, 2006)