Indonesia to import 600,000 oil barrels from Sudan

February 5, 2010 (JAKARTA) – Indonesian state-owned oil company PT Pertamina said it had obtained a permit from the trade minister to import 600,000 barrels of “Nile Blend” crude from Sudan.

Oil production in Indonesia has decreased steadily during the last decade, owing to disappointing exploration efforts and declining production at Indonesia’s large, mature oil fields.

In 2008, Sudan exported the majority of its oil to China (214,000 bbl/d) followed by Japan (102,000 bbl/d) and Indonesia (43,000 bbl/d). Additional importers of Sudanese crude include India, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia.

Pertamina vice president director Omar S Anwar told Indonesian House Commission VII, dealing with people’s welfare, on Thursday the trade minister had already issued a letter to allow the import of several kinds of fuel oils and crude including the Sudanese Nile Blend.

“We have received a permit from the trade minister,” he said.

Omer said the tender for the import of Nile Blend carried out by its subsidiary, Petral, in November 2009 for delivery in January 2010 had been done according to correct procedures.

Sudanese state oil firm Sudapet, in a tender last month for February-loading Nile Blend, sold a 1 million-barrel cargo to European trader Arcadia and a 600,000-barrel cargo to Glencore at a discount of between $1.10 and $1.20 a barrel to Minas Indonesia Crude Price (ICP).

As many as 32 companies mostly international took part in the process of the Nile Blend procurement, he said. “The result is four companies have given the best offer,” he said.

The best bidders are BP, Trafigura, Sietco and Gold Manor. Of the four bidders, Gold Manor is the one that offers the lowest price, he said.

He said Nile Blend is also used in China and Japan.

Omar denied that the Nile Blend import had once been withheld in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

“There is no problem with imports. Unloading in Balikpapan was already carried out on January 16, 2010,” he said.

(ST)