JAKARTA, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- After nearly a decade of development, the Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) Balikpapan project, the flagship initiative under the national RDMP programme of PT Pertamina (Persero), has entered its initial operation phase, marking a major milestone in Indonesia’s refinery modernisation efforts.
Pertamina corporate communications vice-president Muhammad Baron said the RDMP is a national strategic programme aimed at modernising Indonesia’s existing refineries.
“The programme aims to increase refining capacity, improve fuel quality to meet international standards, and enhance energy security and competitiveness,” he told Bernama.
Baron said the Balikpapan refinery is currently producing 260,000 barrels per day, and under the RDMP, it is expected to increase its fuel refining or processing capacity to 360,000 barrels per day.
Besides Balikpapan, Pertamina operates five other refineries across Indonesia and is currently producing a total capacity of around 1.1 million barrels per day.
According to Pertamina data, the RDMP Balikpapan project was initiated around 2016 and progressed through multiple construction and commissioning phases before reaching operational readiness toward the end of 2025, culminating in its official inauguration this year.
The RDMP Balikpapan project, supported by the construction and expansion of a range of integrated energy infrastructures, was inaugurated by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto last Monday.
These infrastructures, Baron said, include a single-point mooring facility with a capacity of 320,000 deadweight tonnage, a floating buoy system anchored offshore of Kalimantan that allows very large crude carriers to moor and transfer crude oil to the refinery.
The project also comprises two additional giant crude oil storage tanks at Lawe-lawe, each with a capacity of one million barrels, used to store crude oil as raw material for the Balikpapan refinery.
At the core of the project are the main refinery facilities, including the crude distillation unit and the residual fluid catalytic cracking complex, which form part of the Balikpapan refinery upgrade, as outlined in Pertamina’s RDMP documentation.
In addition to the refinery facilities, Baron said the integrated infrastructure includes other energy assets, namely a 78-kilometre Senipah-Balikpapan gas pipeline that supplies gas for refinery operations, and the Tanjung Batu Fuel Terminal, which serves as a receiving and distribution hub for fuel products to end customers in eastern Indonesia.
Baron said that, under the RDMP, Balikpapan refinery is also expected to significantly boost gasoline production from approximately 42,000 barrels per day to 142,000 barrels per day, and LPG production from approximately 48,000 tonnes per year to 384,000 tonnes per year.
He said the project would also enable the refinery to improve fuel quality to Euro 5 and increase flexibility in processing crude oil and producing high-quality products.
He said the refinery would also produce petrochemical products, including 58,000 tonnes per annum of sulfur and 225,000 tonnes per annum of propylene, supporting downstream integration and value creation.
“With the RDMP programme, Balikpapan refinery will be the most advanced and the biggest refinery in Indonesia.
“The programme will also benefit energy security for eastern Indonesia due to the increase of refinery capacity, creating jobs since the development phase, enhancing local economy such as small and medium enterprises, shops, and supporting facilities such as restaurants, cafes and hotels,” he added.
-- BERNAMA
