PTTGC, Pertamina may rope in partner for Indonesia project

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) and Pertamina may decide to rope in another partner for their joint petrochemical project that will be built in Indonesia, PTTGC CEO Anon Sirisaengtaksin said on Friday.

The project, which is estimated to cost between $4.00bn-5.00bn (€3.08bn-3.85bn), is a 51:49 joint venture between Indonesian state-owned energy firm Pertamina and Thailand’s petrochemical major PTTGC.

“There could be a third party if it is needed. We are now talking to one of the potential candidates,” Sirisaengtaksin told ICIS without providing details.

The equity structure of the project is expected to be finalised by the end of the year, he said.

“We are still at an early stage of the discussion,” the PTTGC executive said.

PTTGC and Pertamina signed a heads of agreement (HoA) on the world-scale petrochemical project in Indonesia on 1 April.

“Indonesia has a large population and the country’s potential economic growth is still continuing at 5%,” said Sirisaengtaksin, adding that the petrochemical project will mainly cater to the domestic needs of the country.

“This is one of the good points – it has the domestic market base that readily justifies the world-scale project,” he said.

In the coming months, feasibility studies will be conducted on the proposed project, which is expected to include a 1m tonne/year cracker that is slated to start up by 2017.

The planned cracker will likely use naphtha as feedstock, Sirisaengtaksin said.

“We are looking at some other options as well. During the [next] nine months, we would be able to identify better what would be the proper combination [of feedstocks],” Sirisaengtaksin said.

“We have to be sure of what are the end-products that we are aiming for,” he added.

($1 = €0.77)