Indonesian state energy company Pertamina aims to complete the revamp of its largest refinery in Balikpapan by September 2025. This upgrade is designed to enhance the facility’s capability to produce cleaner fuels. Earlier this year, Pertamina increased the refinery’s processing capacity from 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 360,000 bpd, but additional aspects of the revamp are running behind schedule.
Key milestones remaining include the completion of the new residue fluid catalytic cracking (RFCC) unit, which will have a capacity of 90,000 bpd. This unit is crucial for producing gasoline that meets Euro 5 specifications, significantly reducing pollution compared to the current Euro 2 output.
Once the revamp is complete, the Nelson Complexity Index of the Balikpapan facility will rise from 4.2 to 8, indicating an improved ability to process lower-quality crude and produce more refined products. Currently, most of Pertamina’s refineries can only handle sweet crude, limiting their flexibility.