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PT Elnusa, a subsidiary of state-owned oil firm PT Pertamina,
expects to raise up to US$30 million from the sale of a 20 percent
stake during an initial public offering (IPO) latter this year, an
official says.
"The IPO plan was approved by shareholders during a meeting Monday,
Elnusa corporate secretary Haris Syahrudin told The Jakarta Post on
Tuesday.
During the meeting, the shareholders also approved the appointment of
Eteng A. Salam, Pertamina's director for development and human
resources, as Elnusa's new president, replacing Ruddy Radjab.
The IPO is expected to take place at the end of this year or the
beginning of next year, Haris said, while the proceeds from the sale of
the 20 percent stake, which it is estimated will fetch about US$30
million, will be used to finance oil and gas exploration work.
As one of Pertamina's most profitable subsidiaries, Elnusa has 14
business units operating in the oil and gas sector, both upstream and
downstream, and is also involved in the information technology field.
The firm is 51.38 percent owned by Pertamina and 46.44 percent by PT
Tri Daya Esta, with the rest of its shares being divided up among 5
other companies.
However, Eteng's appointment has raised some concerns from within
Elnusa's executive board.
Senior Elnusa executives fear that Eteng's appointment may affect its
plan to build a $7.3 billion oil refinery in Bojonegara, Banten, called
the Greater Java Refinery Project, in collaboration with the National
Iranian Oil Refinery & Distribution Co.
Construction of the refinery is supposed to start by the end of this
year, with the completed plant expected to come onstream in 2012 with
production capacity of 300,000 barrels per day.
The project is fully backed by the Banten provincial administration,
whose chief executive, Governor Ratu Atut Chosiyah, signed a memorandum
of understanding on the project with the then Elnusa president
director, Rudy Radjab, in April.
"This refinery is a mega project. If it proceeds as scheduled, this
will contribute significantly to the success of the IPO in terms of
share price. But our proceeds estimate has been arrived at without
including the project," Haris said, while refusing to confirm whether
it would actually go ahead or not.
While acknowledging that the fate of the project was at stake, the
director of the project, Safrul, told the Post that the company
remained committed to the project.
"To the best of my knowledge, the government is clearly committed to
this project, as stated by Vice President Jusuf Kalla when he met with
the Iranian officials some months ago," he said.
However, when asked about Pertamina's stance regarding the project,
Safrul said that its position was unclear.
"In writing, they say that they want to participate in the project, but
in reality they are still wavering, saying that there has been no
guidance from the number-one man in Pertamina about it so far," he
revealed.
The project has also attracted the attention of other companies,
including PT Medco Energi International, which is currently still
conducting a feasibility study, Medco corporate secretary Andy Karamoy
said.
Talk about Iranian interest in participating in a refinery project in
Indonesia first surfaced during a visit by a delegation from the
Iranian parliament led by A. Hadad Adel in February. Apart from
Indonesia, Iran is also planning to participate in the development of
four other refineries in other Asian countries.
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