Through its partnership with Glencore plc, PT Chandra Asri Pacific (Chandra Asri Group) has acquired Shell Energy and Chemicals Park (SECP) in Singapore.

Established in 1984, Chandra Asri is an energy, chemical and infrastructure solutions provider in Indonesia.

This corporate action aims to support Indonesia in improving energy security and meeting the growing demand for chemical products.

Through SECP, which is one of the largest oil refineries and trading centers in the world, Chandra Asri will provide petroleum products, including gasoline, jet fuel, gas oil, and bitumen to support various petrochemical industries in Indonesia. Meanwhile, raw materials can be easily obtained and increase the growth of the manufacturing industry.

Erwin Ciputra, President Director of Chandra Asri Pacific, said that every business decision taken by the Company aims to provide benefits for Indonesia. Through this acquisition, it is expected to have a positive impact on the Indonesian economy.

"We are committed to being a growth partner for Indonesia. This strategic step is one of our contributions to the development of local industry and economic growth in Indonesia," he said, on Friday, October 18, 2024.

Erwin added that the results of the business obtained from SECP will be repatriated and reinvested for the development of domestic industry, which will make a significant contribution to national tax revenues, both from corporate taxes and individual taxes.

Chandra Asri is expected to create national energy security through a strategic alliance with State energy company PT Pertamina.

Pertamina and Chandra Asri have the potential to work together to import petroleum products from SECP, which include gasoline, jet, gas oil, and bitumen.

Thus, it is expected that there will be a possibility to lower the price of petroleum products through collaboration in transportation and infrastructure.

Other chemical products that can be produced by Aster (Chandra Asri-Pertamina partnership), such as MEG and Polyol, are very important in the manufacturing process. Indonesia still needs a number of these chemical products and often imports them from developed countries.

Chandra Asri Group plans to prioritize the needs of the Indonesian market by moving products from Aster to fill the gap.

Meanwhile, the government will increase oil and gas lifting to reduce imports that make the country bigger.

Currently, Indonesian oil and gas are facing serious challenges. Because, Indonesian oil and gas production continues to decline.

According to data from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, oil lifting has continued to decline since 2015. In 2018, oil lifting was recorded at 778,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), 746,000 bopd in 2019, 707,000 bopd in 2020, 660,000 in 2021, 612,000 bopd in 2022, and 605.4 bopd in 2023.

With the downward trend, Indonesia has become dependent on imports for crude oil and petroleum products to cover the deficit. In 2023, fuel subsidies in Indonesia reached Rp160 trillion (US$10.4 billion), and 60 percent of that amount was for the fuel and LPG sector.