Iran to construct six oil refineries in Indonesia

The head of Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters Union says the Islamic Republic plans to construct six oil refineries in Indonesia.

Hassan Khosrojerdi said on Sunday that Iran will build a heavy oil refinery with the daily production capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil in addition to five smaller refineries with daily production capacities of 30,000 to 50,000 barrels of gas condensates in the Southeastern Asian country, Fars news agency reported.

He added that a joint Iran-Indonesia consortium will be in charge of constructing the refineries, noting that the installations have a total refining capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.

The senior Iranian energy official further stated that his country will provide the feedstock for the six oil refineries in Indonesia.

On February 11, Iranian oil firm Nakhle Barani Pardis and Indonesia’s PT Kreasindo signed a three-billion-dollar agreement for the construction of a 300,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery in Indonesia.

Nakhle Barani Pardis has reportedly accepted to finance 30 percent of the refinery which is planned to be built at Banten or another location in West Java.

The project is set to start next year and will take an estimated three years to complete.

“All of the products will be exported,” said Kreasindo President Rudy Radjab.

Mahendra Siregar, chief of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board, said, “The international world needs a strong Iran, a growing Iran and an Iran that has a developed economy.”

He said Indonesia is looking for “good opportunities” in the future, adding that the state-run energy firm Pertamina is ready for investment in Iran.

Indonesia’s current one-million-bpd refining capacity meets only two-thirds of its demand.