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Twelve overseas oil firms have submitted bids for the supply
of 1 million kiloliters (mkl) of high speed diesel (HSD) to fire state
electricity firm PT PLN's power plants, PLN chief commissioner Alhilal
Hamdi says.
The 12 companies will now progress to the prequalification stage in
February, Alhilal told reporters Monday, with the winner expected to
make the first delivery in April.
When asked to name the firms, Alhilal would only give the name of
Malaysian state oil firm Petronas, and refused to reveal the others.
The open tender for the HSD brings to an end the monopoly held by state
oil and gas firm PT Pertamina, which has long been the sole supplier of
HSD to PLN.
"We can save up to Rp 500 (US$0.05) per liter if we buy the HSD from
other suppliers," PLN president director Eddie Widiono said Monday on
the sidelines of a meeting with the House of Representatives.
The price charged by Pertamina to date has been 14.5 percent higher
than the price determined based upon the Mean of Platts Singapore
(MOPS), the benchmark for HSD prices in the region.
On average, PLN needs about 8 mkl of a combination of HSD and oil to
fire its oil-fired power plants, which account for around 24 percent of
its total plants.
It remains unclear whether PLN will hold further tenders later this
year.
Eddie said that if PLN were allowed to import all of its oil supplies,
it could save up to Rp 4 trillion per year.
"It would significantly improve our financial performance," Eddie said.
Last year, PLN managed to cut its losses to Rp 1.08 trillion (US$120
million) from 2005's huge loss of Rp 4.92 trillion.
According to Eddie, PLN has run up arrears of Rp 22 trillion to
Pertamina for fuel since 1998.
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