Saudi Aramco, the world’s leading integrated energy and petrochemicals enterprise, and PT Pertamina, Indonesia’s state oil and gas company, signed a Joint Venture Development Agreement (JVDA), marking a key milestone to enable further progress to jointly own, upgrade and operate the Cilacap Refinery in central Java, Indonesia.

Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser and Pertamina President-Director and CEO Dwi Soetjipto signed the agreement today at Pertamina’s headquarters in Jakarta.

In November 2015, both companies signed a heads of agreement (HoA) and today’s JVDA will allow for the next development phase of the project to move forward.

“Indonesia’s growth trajectory is truly remarkable with an ambitious economic agenda underscored by the government’s reforms to increase investments in the infrastructure and energy sectors,” Saudi Aramco president and CEO Nasser said. “Through an outlay of significant capital investments and the reliable supply of competitive feedstock, today’s agreement with Pertamina enables Saudi Aramco to potentially play a bigger role in meeting the rising energy needs of one of the world’s fastest developing economies,” he added.

“The agreement is representing both company’s strong commitment in developing and strengthening the energy infrastructure throughout the country, especially in refinery projects, that align Pertamina’s five strategic pillars. Upgrading and expansion of Cilacap Refinery will help Pertamina to enhance its downstream competitiveness with higher valuable and environmental friendly products,” Dwi Soetjipto said.

The Cilacap refinery is part of Pertamina’s Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) and its capacity is planned for an expansion to 400,000 barrels per day and it is designed to process Arabian crude supplied by Saudi Aramco. It will also produce refined products that meet Euro V specifications, basic petrochemicals, and Group II base oil for lubricants.

In addition to meeting rising fuel demand, the partnership between Pertamina and Saudi Aramco will enhance the competitiveness of Indonesia’s refineries and contribute to improved energy security.  

Saudi Aramco and Pertamina agreed on the ownership structure of the upgraded Cilacap refinery, where Pertamina will hold a 55 percent stake and Saudi Aramco will own the balance 45 percent. To date, the upgraded refinery configuration has been completed and the process to select technology licensors will start soon with the Basic Engineering Design work targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2017. Signing this agreement paves the way for the upgraded project to move to the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase in the second quarter 2017 while project startup is targeted in 2021. 

About Saudi Aramco

Saudi Aramco is a world leading integrated energy and chemicals company. We are driven by our core belief that energy is opportunity. From producing approximately one of every eight barrels of the world’s crude oil supply to developing new energy technologies, our global team is dedicated to creating positive impact in all that we do. We focus on making our resources more sustainable and more useful. This promotes long-term economic growth and prosperity around the world.

About PT Pertamina

Pertamina is Indonesia’s state-owned integrated oil and gas company. We are committed to an ongoing process of transformation and continuous improvement that will lead to our achieving global standards of operation, environmental, and corporate performance. As a national oil company, we are committed to balancing profitable performance with our public service mandate. Pertamina has 58 years of experience in the challenging geological environment of Indonesia, were pioneers in the development of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and now have operations in six countries.

Our businesses include the exploration and production of oil and gas; the refining, manufacturing and marketing of oil products and petrochemicals; and the development of biofuels, geothermal power and other sustainable alternative energy sources.

Pertamina has operations and facilities throughout Indonesia. Pertamina’s employees serve the energy needs of over 240 million Indonesians.