REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – State-owned oil and gas company, PT Pertamina, is building new oil pipelines for Tempino-Plaju route in South Sumatera. Through its subsidiary, PT Pertamina Gas (Pertagas), Pertamina spends around 90 million USD.
"We will plant the pipelines two meters beneath the surface. The length will be 270 kilometers," the Vice President Corporate Communication of Pertamina, Ali Mundakir, said on Friday.
The new pipelines replace the old ones in Tempino-Plaju route. Compared to the old pipelines, the capacity of the new pipelines is bigger. It can transport 11,000 to 15,000 barrels per day.
Pertamina expects the project, started on early 2012, to finish by the end of 2012 and operate on early 2013. The new pipelines will also distribute crude oil to Plaju III refinery, which has the capacity of 145,000 barrels per day. "The old pipelines are prone to theft," he said. The new pipelines planted deeper so they are expected to be safer.