Pertamina Balikpapan Refinery Production 46.3 Million Barrels Of Oil Throughout January-June 2023

Safety briefing or taklimat keselamatan sebelum mulai bekerja di lingkungan Kilang Balikpapan. (Antara/HO-KPI)

JAKARTA - The Pertamina Balikpapan refinery has processed 46.3 million barrels of crude oil during the January-June 2023 period. That number increased 5.8 percent from January-June 2022. This amount was achieved with a production capacity of 260 thousand barrels per day.

"Sebago separo or 50 percent more crude oil is processed into gasoil or diesel products, namely diesel, pertadex, and dexlite," said Balikpapan Refinery Public Relations Officer Ely Chandra Warinangin quoted by Antara, Sunday.

Some of it is to produce gasoline or pertalite, pertamax, pertamax turbo, including aviation fuel.

Products from the Balikpapan Refinery are mainly used to meet the needs of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and the eastern part of Indonesia.

According to Chandra Warinangin, one indicator of refinery reliability is the amount of crude oil it processes.

The increasing amount of oil successfully processed, is a sign that the refinery produces effectively and efficiently, also with high safety standards so that there is no loss time incident or LTI. Loss time incident is common in making refineries stop operating temporarily for security reasons, but it means stopping production.

"So we hope that the refinery will only stop operating at the planned times, such as during turn around or refinery maintenance," explained Warinangin.

Currently, the Balikpapan Refinery is increasing its production capacity or capacity with the Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) project which is targeted to be completed in 2024. In that year, the production of the Refinery will reach 360 thousand barrels per day and make it the largest refinery in Indonesia, exceeding the capacity of the Cilacap Refinery which is 348 thousand barrels per day today.

"Therefore, the Balikpapan Refinery has a very strategic position in maintaining energy security in Indonesia," explained Peranginangin.

The management of Pertamina refineries is also carried out in an integrated manner so that it can support each other to maintain energy resilience.