Pertamina

PT Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, headquartered in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin and Permina. In 2020, the firm was the third-largest crude oil producer in Indonesia behind US-based companies ExxonMobil's Mobil Cepu Ltd. and Chevron Pacific Indonesia. According to the 2020 Fortune Global 500 list, Pertamina is the largest company in Indonesia.

History

Nationalization

In 1957, Royal Dutch/Shell's assets in Indonesia were nationalised, from which Permina was founded as a state-owned oil monopoly, headed by Lieutenant-General Ibnu Sutowo. Sutowo's position as the second deputy of Abdul Haris Nasution was the beginning of the armed forces' involvement in the oil industry. Permina distributed oil for the entire archipelago.
Permina founded the Apprentice Technical School in Brandan to train and produce experts in the field. In 1962, the company went on to establish the Oil Academy in Bandung. The academy's curriculum covered the technical aspects of the petroleum industry, and the graduates became the main source of labor for Permina.
In 1960, the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly adopted a policy that oil and gas extraction could only be carried out by the state, through a state-administered company. Pertamin was responsible for the administration, management and controlling of the exploration and production. The policy was short-lived. An agreement between the state and foreign companies was affirmed that gradually, oil refinery manufactures and other assets in marketing and distribution were to be sold to Indonesia within five to fifteen years.
In 1968, to consolidate the oil and gas industry for its management, exploration, marketing and distribution, Permina and Pertamin merged and became PN. Pertamina. It continued to do little drilling itself but made production-sharing agreements with foreign companies.

The 1970s

After the merger, Pertamina's production rose considerably. By the end of 1973, it produced 28.2% of Indonesia's oil, with agreements of Caltex and Stanvac to produce the rest. Its assets included seven refineries, oil terminals, 116 tankers, 102 other vessels and an airline. It was also active in cement, fertiliser, liquid natural gas, steel, hospitals, real estate, a rice estate, and telecommunications.
The 1974 oil price increases produced revenues of USD 4.2 billion in that year, equivalent to approximately one-sixth of Indonesia's gross domestic product. Much of this revenue was used by Sutowo to expand Pertamina's interests far beyond oil production to include investments in oil tankers, steel and construction. Pertamina built the Bina Graha, the presidential executive office building in Jakarta. The global oil crisis of the 1970s greatly increased oil prices and thus Pertamina's profits. The company initially provided a fiscal lift to the hopes of Indonesia's development planners.
For President Suharto and other members of the ruling elite, revenue from Pertamina was "an ongoing source of funding" without accountability. "They ran this cash-cow into the ground, using it for both military and personal ends." Historian Adrian Vickers describes the endemic corruption at Pertamina:

"At each stage of the transaction chain, somebody was getting a percentage... If accidents occurred, as in 1972 when eighty impoverished people died... they could be covered up."

In 1973, the government's ability to borrow money from overseas was constrained, and Pertamina was no longer providing revenues to the state. Instead, the massive enterprise turned out not to be making money but accumulating losses. In February 1975, Pertamina could no longer pay its American and Canadian creditors. An investigation followed, which revealed over US$10 billion in debt, mismanagement, and corruption within the company. This debt was equivalent to approximately thirty per cent of Indonesia's GNP at the time. Others offer a figure of a $15 billion debt. A public investigation damaged the reputation of the national elite both among Indonesians and foreigners.
However, charges against Ibnu Sutowo were dismissed and he and his family remained among the richest and most powerful in Indonesia, well into the 21st century. The government took over the operation of the company and sought means by which to repay its debts. Pertamina's debt problems were eventually solved through a large government bail-out, which nearly doubled Indonesia's foreign debt.

Since the 1980s

observers have long expressed concerns about Indonesia's hostility to labour unions. According to the Multinational Monitor: "In 1985, the government ordered the firing of over 1,600 workers at Pertamina and foreign oil companies, charging that they had been members of the Indonesian Communist Party, which had been permanently banned 19 years earlier when Suharto took power."
To execute a clause in the 2001 Oil and Natural Gas Act, in 2003 Pertamina legally became PT PERTAMINA, as per the enactment of Government Regulation No.31/2003. Pertamina is now under the coordinator of the State Minister of State-owned Enterprises.
Like other contractors, Pertamina holds a Cooperation Contract with the Oil and Gas Regulatory Body. With its transformation into a limited company, Pertamina has become a business entity with the main target of making a profit.

2024 Pertamina LNG graft scandal

In June 2024, Karen Agustiawan, Pertamina's president director from 2009 to 2014, was sentenced by the Jakarta Corruption Court to nine years in prison for graft, surrounding the procurement of liquefied natural gas from Cheniere Energy. News agency Antara estimates the that purchase contract resulted in state losses of Rp1.7 trillion. In August 2024, the conviction was upheld by the Jakarta High Court.
Other executives, including Yenni Andayani and Hari Karyuliarto, are also implicated and under investigation for their involvement in decisions that led to substantial financial losses. Luhur Budi Djatmiko, another former executive, faces scrutiny related to a separate corruption case involving a land purchase in South Jakarta that caused the state a loss of Rp348 billion.

Export-import and gasoline quality corruption scandals

On 25 February 2025, the Attorney General’s Office identified seven individuals as suspects in a corruption case involving state-owned energy firm Pertamina, its subsidiaries, and private contractors. The alleged misconduct, which occurred between 2018 and 2023, reportedly resulted in state losses amounting to Rp 193.7 trillion.
The suspects include Riva Siahaan, CEO of Pertamina Patra Niaga; Yoki Firnandi, CEO of Pertamina International Shipping; and Sani Dinar Saifuddin, Director at Kilang Pertamina Internasional. Prosecutors claimed that the three executives bypassed a regulation requiring Pertamina to prioritize local crude oil purchases, instead opting for costly imports.
In response, the suspects justified these actions by asserting that domestic crude did not meet refinery specifications, despite evidence proving otherwise. Additionally, Pertamina International Shipping allegedly exaggerated crude oil transportation costs, marked up to 13%-15%, profiting Muhammad Kerry Andrianto Riza, one of the suspects from private sector. Oil trader Mohammad Riza Chalid, Muhammad Kerry's father, had his house in South Jakarta raided by prosecutors as part of the case investigation, even though he was not yet named as a suspect.
Additional suspects from the private sectors include: Dimas Werhaspati, Commissioner of PT Navigator Khatulistiwa and PT Jenggala Maritim; and Gading Ramadhan Joedo, Commissioner of PT Jenggala Maritim and PT Orbit Terminal Merak.
Investigations also uncovered that Pertamina Patra Niaga adulterated subsidized Pertalite RON 90 gasoline with the higher-quality Pertamax RON 92 and sold it at an inflated price, which was denied by Corporate Secretary of Pertamina Patra Niaga, Heppy Wulansari, on 26 February, without providing any proof.
On 25 February, member of House of Representatives Eko Hendro Purnomo stated that the DPR will summon Minister of State Owned Enterprise Erick Thohir without providing any details on the date. Erick Thohir himself was too busy taking care of PSSI since he still was available to make comments on the Indonesian national team under 23 and under 20.
On 26 February, interviewed by Tempo, Universitas Gadjah Mada law professor M. Fatahillah Akbar stated that Pertamina consumers could take class action law suits against Pertamina both under criminal and civil law at the same time.

President directors

During the 1970s, until 1976, the president director of Pertamina was Ibnu Sutowo, a well-known figure in Indonesia. Since then, there have been a number of president directors. Recent president directors have included the following:

Facilities

Refineries

Pertamina has not built any new refineries since the Balongan refinery was opened in West Java in the mid-1990s.
PTT Public Company Limited and Pertamina signed into partnership to build a new petrochemical complex in Indonesia for an estimated cost of US $4 to 5 billion.
As of 2013, Pertamina operates six oil refineries which have a total combined capacity of around of oil per day:

No	Refinery Unit	Unit	Province	Capacity	Capacity
1	RU II	Dumai	Riau		-
2	RU III	Plaju	South Sumatra		-
3	RU IV	Cilacap	Central Java		-
4	RU V	Balikpapan	East Kalimantan		-
5	RU VI	Balongan	West Java		-
6	RU VII	Kasim	West Papua		-
	Total				-

Source: Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Resources, .
There are several other refineries in Indonesia which Pertamina has responsibilities for:

No	Unit	Province	Capacity	Capacity
1	Sei Pakning	Riau		-
2	Cepu	Central Java		-
3	Tuban	East Java		-

Source: Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Resources, .
In addition to the refineries which Pertamina owns, Pertamina has invested in two operating companies that manage output from LNG plants.

PT Badak LNG operates a plant in Bontang, East Kalimantan, with 8 trains having a total capacity of 22.5 million tons per annum.
PT Donggi Senoro LNG in Uso Village, Batui Subdistrict, Banggai Regency, Central Sulawesi Province, with 1 train with a capacity of 2 million tons per annum.

Pertamina also invested in the PT Arun 6 LNG trains near Lhokseumawe, Aceh, which had a total capacity of 12.5 million tons per annum. They closed down due to a lack of feed gas in 2014, and now Arun has used an LNG import terminal.
During 2012 and early 2013, it was announced several times that there were plans to build two more large fuel refineries, each with a capacity of around per day, perhaps in Balongan, West Java and in Tuban, East Java. The first facility was planned to be built by Pertamina in partnership with Kuwait Petroleum, while the second was expected to be built by Pertamina in co-operation with Saudi Aramco. Total investment was expected to be around $20 billion. One main problem holding up an agreement to build the refineries was the issue of financial concessions to be provided for the foreign investors. Eventually, in September 2013 it was announced that the plans for the first refinery had been cancelled. At the same time, the government said that there were plans for yet a different refinery project which would be constructed solely by Pertamina and funded by the state. The crude oil for this alternative project was expected to be supplied from Iraq. Pending further progress on these large investment plans, Pertamina has announced plans to upgrade the existing refineries so as to add around per day to Pertamina's current refining capacity of around per day.
Pertamina also has two gas reserves and a petrochemical company. Pertamina's products include a great variety of fuels, chemicals, additives, and retail products.