Indonesia's Pertamina expects investments to reach $92 billion by 2024

PERTAMINA - JAKARTA. Indonesia's state oil company PT Pertamina expects to invest $92 billion in the period from last year to 2024, its chief executive said on Thursday, as the country seeks to rely less on energy imports and rein in its current account deficit.

The funds would come from the company, while $40 billion is expected to be raised externally, Nicke Widyawati told parliament.

"Developing the future of the business needs funds that are not small," Nicke said, noting the externals funds could come from partnerships, loans or bonds.

The investments will be used for 14 "national strategic projects" and 300 other investments in oil and gas as well as renewable energy supply chains, Pertamina spokeswoman Fajriyah Usman said in a statement late on Wednesday. Some of the projects may be eligible for funding from the country's new sovereign wealth fund, the Indonesian Investment Authority (INA), said Fajriyah, who did not elaborate after citing a non-disclosure agreement.

INA was launched in February with a target of managing $20 billion of assets, including some $5 billion the state will put into the fund this year.

In an effort to revamp hundreds of state companies to boost profits, Pertamina created four new "sub-holding" units across the oil and gas supply chain last year which the company says are slated to go public.

The Indonesian energy ministry issued a regulation in 2018 asking oil and gas contractors to prioritise Pertamina and other domestic refinery operators as buyers for crude produced from the country's blocks, in its efforts to reduce energy imports.