A fire broke out at Indonesia's state-controlled Pertamina's 170,000 b/d Dumai refinery late on 1 October, likely forcing a run cut at the refinery, said sources in Indonesia.
The blaze happened on the night of 1 October, but the cause was still unclear at the time of writing, sources close to the refiner said. Run rates at the Dumai refinery are likely to have been cut to 50pc as a result of the fire, while some secondary units may have halted operations, sources in Indonesia said. Pertamina has been contacted for comment.
The Dumai refinery was already supposed to be shut for a planned turnaround in end-October for about a month, said sources.
The fire came at a time when Pertamina has been facing supply shortages in the domestic market. The refiner put out a spot tender on 30 September seeking prompt-delivery for 1.1mn bl of 2,500ppm sulphur gasoil. The reason for this prompt import demand could not be confirmed.
Pertamina has also stepped up its spot gasoline purchases in recent weeks. The refiner's spot activity has increased as its term supplies have declined. Pertamina secured just 7mn-8mn bl/month (230,000-260,000 b/d) of gasoline for the second half of 2025, down from 10mn-11mn bl/month previously, market participants said. Some private sector firms such as Shell and BP have also been experiencing fuel shortages at their service stations in recent weeks, likely because of constraints surrounding their import quotas, market participants told Argus.
The Dumai refinery has a crude distillation unit, a high vacuum unit, a platformer, the hydrocracker, a naphtha and gasoil treater, and a delayed coker unit. The hydrocracker suffered an explosion in April 2023.
