The government should be able to help PT Pertamina (Persero) to get a contract to purchase crude oil directly from the National oil company/NOC of another country. Direct import contracts are considered more efficient because they can cut the cost of procuring crude oil.
The Executive Director of the Reforminer Institute, Komaidi Notonegoro, said that purchasing crude oil directly from NOCs of other countries would cut the supply chain of crude oil. This will have an impact on cheaper procurement costs, so it is positive for Pertamina, the government, and the community as consumers of fuel oil (BBM).
Pertamina's move to buy crude oil directly from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is considered very positive. However, the company needs to be more aggressive in obtaining long-term direct purchase contracts to secure domestic fuel supplies.
“Generally there is state intervention. The agreement will generally be accompanied by bilateral cooperation in the same sector or other sectors," he said.
Pertamina is not the first time buying Nigerian crude oil. Previously, for the 2017-2020 period, oil imports from Nigeria reached 30% of the company's total imports. This Nigerian oil belongs to the sweet crude category which is in accordance with the company's refinery specifications.
However, this crude oil is usually marketed in the international market by International Oil Companies (IOCs) with participating interest (PI) in the oil and gas blocks in the country, such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, Total, and BP. Thus, this is the first time Pertamina has conducted a direct purchase contract with NNPC. In obtaining this contract, Pertamina must compete with 500 companies that register.
According to Komaidi, the state usually helps its national companies to obtain similar agreements. He gave an example, the United States government does not even hesitate to intervene directly to help business entities originating from their country, even though they are not state-owned enterprises.
"Especially if this is Pertamina, which is a State-Owned Enterprise (BUMN)," he asserted.
Currently, Pertamina seems to be left to do it alone. Whereas on the other hand, the government assigns and demands a very large tax contribution and Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) from the company.
Regarding the crude oil import contract with NNPC, Corporate Secretary of PT Pertamina Indonesia Refinery Ifki Sukarya said the volume will adjust to the development of refinery supply and demand in the coming year. This purchase contract is one of the efforts to ensure a sufficient supply of crude oil at the refinery.
"The estimated volume of crude oil supply from NNPC is currently around 900,000 barrels per quarter," said Ifki.
Previously, KPI's Vice President of Feedstock & Inventory Management, Sani Dinar Saifuddin, said that Nigeria is Pertamina's largest source of crude oil imports. Meanwhile, the largest oil import is the type of Arabian Light Crude from Saudi Arabia's national oil company, namely Saudi Aramco.
Investor Daily, Page-10, Friday, July 23, 2021
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