Pertamina Woos Myanmar Retail Fuel Business

Under the bidding proposal, Pertamina and MPPE would establish a joint venture to sell co-branded oil fuels.

Pertamina would operate 18 fuel depots and 12 fuel stations across the Mekong country through the joint venture, Ahmad said.

“We would invest $33 million for the project,” he said, adding that the deal would also open an opportunity for Pertamina to sell fuel to other independent fuel stations across Myanmar.

Pertamina is also considering an offer from a Cambodia firm to sell fuel in the country. In Cambodia, Pertamina could sell its fuel under Pertamina brands and operate its own fuel station, but it could not have a fuel depot, Ahmad said.

The state energy company have been trying to expand its downstream business abroad, in particular in the Southeast Asian countries.

“Our targets is the developing countries because it’s easier to secure permits there compared to the more developed countries,” Ahmad said.

Rini Soemarno, the State-Owned Enterprise Minister, said earlier that she targeted Pertamina to branch out to at least one of the Mekong countries by 2018.

Pertamina has Pertamina International Timor, a joint venture with 4-Consortio Timor Progresso, to sell oil fuel, lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas in Timor Leste.

The state energy company virtually controls Indonesia’s retail oil fuel market, thanks to its vast distribution network across the archipelago. That despite the government has opened the sector to foreign firms like Dutch’s Shell, Malaysia’s Petronas and French’s Total for more than a decade.