Pertamina's Efforts To Strengthen Petrokima Business Through Integration Of TPPI Refineries With Tuban GRR

Pertamina Building. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - PT Pertamina (Persero) has prepared a number of strategies to strengthen its petrochemical business line. One of the ways to do this is by integrating the Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indonesia (TPPI) refinery with the Tuban Grass Root Refinery (GRR).

Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati said that the market opportunity for the petrochemical business is currently around Rp40-Rp50 trillion per year. According to him, the petrochemical business also has a higher margin compared to BBM.

"Pertamina has the capacity and competence to increase the competitiveness of the national petrochemical industry. Pertamina is ready to reduce dependence on imports of petrochemical products through the development of an integrated petrochemical business, ”said Nicke in a written statement, Monday, January 13.

Nicke explained, the step to integrate the TPPI refinery with the Tuban GRR was carried out by Pertamina by carrying out a corporate action to purchase the Tuban Petro series B shares worth IDR 3.2 trillion so that Pertamina currently controls a majority stake of 51 percent.

By controlling the majority share, Pertamina has control in the development of the TPPI. Starting 2020, in accordance with the company's budget work plan (RKAP), Pertamina will increase the aromatic production of the TPPI refinery from the current 46,000 tons per year to 55,000 tons per year.

In the long term, Pertamina will also build an olefin center so that later TPPI will produce 700,000 tons of petrochemicals per year (ktpa).

At the same time, the GRR Tuban megaproject will have a petrochemical production facility with polypropylene products totaling 1,205 ktpa, 1,317 ktpa of paraxylene, and 750 ktpa of polyethylene. This form of integration with the TPPI refinery is realized through the construction of a 7 km connecting pipe.