OREANDA-NEWS. Indonesian state-owned oil company Pertamina started yesterday supplying its new residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) at its 348,000 b/d Cilacap refinery in central Java.

It will take about one week to start up the 62,000 b/d RFCC, which is projected to cut Indonesia's fuel imports by 10pc assuming a run rate of 30,000 b/d, Pertamina said.

The RFCC will produce nearly 7,200t of propylene in October, amounting to run rates of nearly 60pc. The RFCC, which could produce about 150,000 t/yr of propylene, is in the process of reaching on-specification production.

The specific date for on-specification production is not yet confirmed. Pertamina has earlier said that commercial operation is expected to start by the end of the second week in October. Run rates for the RFCC are targeted to increase to 70-75pc in November.

Indonesian petrochemical producer Chandra Asri is expected to take 2,000t of propylene in October, on top of the 7,000t propylene it is receiving from Pertamina's 125,000 b/d Balongan refinery. Chandra Asri needs the propylene to run its 480,000 t/yr polypropylene unit, which is targeted to run at 95pc during the company's cracker maintenance shutdown. Its cracker is having a 90-day debottlenecking that will boost its propylene production capacity to 470,000 t/yr.

Pertamina is expected to issue a tender for a 2016 propylene contract this November to sell the 180,000 t/yr surplus propylene from the Cilacap RFCC and Balongan refinery, which is now producing propylene at 750 t/d. The tender will be divided into two equal packages of 90,000 t/yr.

The Cilacap RFCC is expected to increase supplies of propylene in Indonesia amid Chandra Asri's debottlenecking, reducing feedstock imports into southeast Asia's largest economy.