Asia/Pacific News
Indonesia Expanding Bunker Storage Capacity
Indonesian state energy company Pertamina has begun work on oil and gas projects including an expansion of its bunker storage capacity on the island of Sambu, the Jakarta Globe reports.
The company will upgrade the terminal to store 300,000 kiloliters of marine fuel oil (MFO), an increase of 90,000 kiloliters.
Pertamina will also upgrade its dock capacity to accommodate ships of 100,000 deadweight tonnes (dwt), compared with a current maximum of 40,000 dwt.
The terminal will be equipped with an automation system comparable to those in Singapore, as well as a diesel fuel and MFO blending facility.
The first stage of upgrades to the terminal is scheduled to be completed by 2016 at a cost of $94.8 million, and later stages are expected to increase the total storage capacity to 835,000 kilolitres.
Pertamina plans to capture demand from the Malacca Strait, which now mainly flows to Singapore, according to Suhartoko, a Pertamina director.
"Demand for marine fuel oil in this strait reaches 42 million kiloliters per year, and so far we can only supply 250,000 kiloliters," he said.
Pertamina is also expanding the capacity of its Tanjung Uban fuel terminal with a $62 million investment and upgrading that port's facility, as well as building jet fuel storage facilities and a fuel depot at the nation's airports.
The Malacca Strait, a key waterway for transit between Europe and Asia, hit an all-time high for marine traffic in 2013, with 77,973 transits, Seatrade Asia Week reported last week.
