PERTAMINA LOWERS PERTAMAX PRICE

Jakarta, Oct 15 (ANTARA) - State-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina on Thursday lowered the price of pertamax fuel by 6.7 percent or Rp500 per liter, Pertamina spokesman Basuki Trikora Putra said.

"The price of pertamax is lowered because its international price in Singapore dropped by between 2.7 and 7.3 percent," Basuki Trikora Putra said here on Thursday.

Besides, he said, the price was also lowered because of the strengthening of the rupiah and other marketing considerations.

Despite the fact that the oil prices in the world market were showing an upward trend of late, the price of pertamax could be cut because of its previous lower price.

The price of pertamax in Jakarta, West Java and Banten, was lowered by Rp300 per liter from Rp6,200 to Rp5,900 per liter.

The price of Pertamax plus in Jakarta, West Java and Banten was cut by Rp300 per liter from Rp6,800 to Rp6,500 per liter and of pertamax dex from Rp6,800 to Rp6,500 per liter.

In the meantime, PT Pertamina continues seeking new fields at home and abroad to ensure continuity of crude supply for its three new refineries scheduled to operate in 2015-1017.

"We wish to have continuous crude supply when the refineries start operating," its president director, Karen Agustiawan, said on Wednesday.

She said Pertamina had already acquired Onshore West Java Block belonging to BP Indonesia and was now eying two other blocks namely Block Mahakam managed by Total Indonesie and West Madura by Kodeco Energy in addition to other fields.

"We will also continue to expand abroad," she said.

Right now Pertamina holds shares in a number of oil fields in some countries such as Block 3 WD in Iraq, 3 in Qatar, 17-3 and 123-3 in Libya, 13 in Sudan, SK-305 in Malaysia and 10 and 11.1 in Vietnam.