Saudi Aramco at the Joint Venture Development Agreement Signing with PT Pertamina in Jakarta, Indonesia

Remarks by Amin H. Nasser, president & CEO, Saudi Aramco.

Pak Dwi, president and CEO, Pertamina; ladies and gentlemen: assalamulaikum, selamat pagi and good morning. I would like to say a special thanks to Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Indonesia, H.E. Osamah Al-Shuibi, for joining us here today.

I am glad to be back in Jakarta to renew our discussion of the proposed Cilacap Refinery joint venture development agreement. When we met in Cilacap in late 2015 for the Heads of Agreement signing, we celebrated the mutual commitment of Saudi Aramco and Pertamina to take our longstanding relationship to a new level of cooperation.

And today, I am here to reiterate our continued commitment to Indonesia, both through the Cilacap upgrade and other potential downstream opportunities with Pertamina.

Commitment to Indonesia’s Energy Goals

Being Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia is predicted to transform from the world’s sixteenth (16th)-largest economy today to the tenth (10th) largest by 2030. And it’s worth noting that since we last met in November 2015 in Cilacap, Indonesia has recorded its strongest growth in 10 quarters.

As Indonesia transforms to be a major global player, similarly, Saudi Arabia’s government is embarking on a major economic transformation program called Saudi Vision 2030.

I am sure all of us here clearly know that achieving success in today’s global context requires significant investments in the human capital, infrastructure and energy sectors.

Even more important, given today’s global landscape, I believe close cooperation is needed to help one another achieve success through partnerships such as what we are witnessing between Pertamina and Saudi Aramco.

Saudi Aramco is ready to support Indonesia’s growth and development with significant resources and capital in the domestic refining and petrochemicals sector, which needs to expand to meet the aspirations of its 250 million people for higher living standards.

The Cilacap refinery is expected to be central to meeting growing demand for refined products, and similarly by the other refineries in Sumatra. The Cilacap upgrading project is ambitious, and Saudi Aramco is uniquely positioned to provide reliable feedstock, scale, technology, project execution and capital to our partnership.

A Shared Culture and Heritage

Yet there’s a further dimension to our partnership, and that is the rich history and heritage that Indonesia and Saudi Arabia have in common. I believe that these commonalities make us natural partners, and the mutual appreciation and respect enriches our business cooperation.

The agreement we sign today also speaks to this commitment. Completing the agreement today on the basis of key business principles will guide and optimize this multi-billion-dollar investment.

Saudi Aramco is a partner focused on the long term, and our investments are reflected in similar undertakings with S-Oil in Korea, Showa Shell in Japan, Fujian Refining in China, and Motiva in the United States.

Looking to the Future

With its stable growth, Indonesia is taking remarkable strides to become a global player – and Saudi Aramco is committed to partnering with Pertamina to help meet Indonesia’s rising energy needs.

Through the refining investments I mentioned earlier, Saudi Aramco has played a direct role in contributing to energy security in Japan, Korea, China and the United States, and partnering with Pertamina likewise provides Indonesia with the energy the country’s ambitious economic development agenda requires.

And beyond this proposed joint venture, we are interested in other downstream value chain investment opportunities that can strengthen our mutually beneficial ties.

Together with our combined strengths, I believe we can achieve much more. Terima kasih and thank you.  

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