Pertamina lets contract for new unit at Cilacap refinery

Indonesia’s state-owned PT Pertamina has let a contract to Topsoe AS to deliver process technology for a grassroots renewable fuels production unit to be installed at subsidiary PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional’s (PT KPI) 348,000-b/d Cilacap integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Central Java.

As part of the Sept. 18 contract, Topsoe will license its proprietary HydroFlex technology for a new unit designed to convert renewable feedstocks into 6,000 b/d of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel for distribution to markets in the Asia Pacific, the service provider said in a release.

While Topsoe disclosed no further details regarding the contract award, the proposed renewable fuels unit at Cilacap comes as part of the refinery’s second phase of its Cilacap Green Refinery Cilacap (CGR) project, according to a series of 2023 official releases from PT KPI.

Completed in February 2022 and commercially operable as of June 2022, CGR Phase 1 has enabled the Cilacap refinery to produce 2,500-3,000 b/d of renewable diesel with a maximum sulfur content of 5 ppm from a feedstock of refined bleached deodorized palm oil, PT KPI confirmed in its 2022 annual report to investors.

The same renewable fuels production unit commissioned as part of CGR Phase 1 has also enabled the refinery to produce an unidentified volume of SAF, the operator said on Aug. 18.

To be based on a feedstock of used cooking oil, CGR Phase 2 is scheduled for startup in 2026, according to a July 14 release from PT KPI.

The renewable fuels production projects at Cilacap—as well as a separate proposed development at PT KPI’s 120,000-b/d Plaju-Sungai Gerong refinery in South Sumatra that would enable the site to produce 20,000 b/d of renewable diesel, SAF, and bionaphtha beginning in 2027—comes as part of the operator’s strategy to increase production of green fuels in helping to achieve its own internal energy transition goals and comply with Indonesia’s 2025 New Renewable Energy mix and 2060 net zero emissions targets, the company said on July 14.