A Line Of Pertamina's Efforts To Accelerate Refinery Development

Pertamina Building. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Pertamina continues to make various breakthroughs to accelerate the construction of refineries in order to create a new history as an energy self-sufficient country. Pertamina's Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) and Grass Root Refinery (GRR) projects are the key in building this new milestone, so that Indonesia is able to meet the fuel needs of its own refineries without dependence on imports.

Pertamina's Vice President for Corporate Communication, Fajriyah Usman, stated that the RDMP and GRR projects will double the refinery capacity for processing crude oil from 1 million barrels at present to 2 million barrels. With a significant increase, all fuel needs can be met by the refineries themselves.

"Pertamina has made a number of accelerations so that the project, which was determined by the President as a national strategic project, can be realized immediately. This is our big dream in building resilience and energy independence at the same time, "said Fajriyah in his written statement, Tuesday, December 17.

Pertamina, continued Fajriyah, has carried out various integrated accelerations so that project implementation targets can be carried out on time or even faster than the set schedule.

The Balongan RDMP project is currently implementing dual feed competition so that project realization can be completed one year ahead of schedule. The feasibility study of Phase I of the Balongan RMDP has been carried out and is continued with land determination and acquisition. For phase II, a feasibility study is being carried out.

For the Balikpapan Refinery, since February 2019 it has entered the construction stage. On May 7, 2019, the deed of establishment of PT Pertamina Balikpapan Refinery was signed. Currently, major equipment and long lead items have been procured. Even some of the equipment is already on site.

Meanwhile, the Cilacap Refinery, after completing the PLBC Project, is now in the process of completing the valuation with Saudi Aramco. RDMP Dumai is in the negotiation stage with partners from the Middle East.

Meanwhile, GRR Tuban has finished with the land acquisition process and is in the process of payment. Pertamina and Rosneft have even signed a Tuban Refinery design contract with a selected contractor on October 28 yesterday. Currently, the implementation of Basic Engineering Design (BED) and Front End Engineering Design (FEED) has begun. In addition, the construction of supporting facilities and preparation for restoration of around 20 ha of land has been carried out along the coast.

At GRR Bontang, the partnership with OOG was signed in December 2018. The location principle permit from the Governor of East Kalimantan has been issued and is currently in the process of carrying out a study and review of the Spatial and Regional Planning (RTRW) document.

"Continuous support from the Government, both Central and Regional, is a separate strength for Pertamina to complete this historic task," said Fajriyah.

PLBC Completed

During the period 2015 - 2019, Pertamina has completed the Cilacap Blue Sky Project (PLBC), which has created a new era for Pertamina to produce world-class fuel with Euro4 standards. This is in line with the Government's policy to implement the use of high-quality and environmentally friendly fuel for a healthy Indonesia.

According to Fajriyah, PLBC has been operating since July 2019 and is integrated with the Cilacap Unit IV Refinery so that quality fuel production increases significantly.

With the operation of PLBC, Pertamina succeeded in increasing Pertamax production by 60% from 1 million barrels to 1.6 million barrels per month. The fuel produced will be supplied to four provinces, namely Jakarta, West Java, Central Java and Jogyakarta, "concluded Fajriyah.

As an energy infrastructure project, PLBC has provided great benefits for Indonesia. At the peak of construction, it can open up a field of up to 2,500 workers. Furthermore, with the completion of the project, Pertamina can reduce the value of fuel imports by around IDR 10 trillion per year.