Pertamina to upgrade Balikpapan revamp

Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company, PT Pertamina, plans to invest US$3.7 billion to upgrade the Balikpapan refinery. It is looking for strategic partners to invest in the project. The company plans to revamp the 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) plant to enable it to process cheaper sour crude. The Balikpapan refinery has two crude distillation units with a capacity of 200,000 bpd and 60,000 bpd. Pertamina also plans to add a 50,000 bpd cracking unit at the plant to process heavy residue and boost gasoline and petrochemicals output. Pertamina is conducting a feasibility study on the project and expects the refinery’s upgrade to be completed by 2012. (June 29, 2007)