Indonesia’s state oil company Pertamina is seeking to buy crude oil for delivery in the first quarter of 2019 using currencies other than the US dollar, a tender document reviewed by Reuters showed on Tuesday.
The move is seen as a tool for the government to curb a widening current account deficit caused by rising oil prices and as it tries to keep Indonesia’s currency afloat.
The rupiah hovered on Tuesday near its weakest since the Asian financial crisis and is the second worst performer among emerging Asian currencies.
The company is seeking to buy up to 5.7 million barrels of low-sulphur, or sweet, crude produced in West Africa, Malaysia, Vietnam or Brunei priced in currencies such as the euro, Indonesian rupiah, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen and Saudi riyal.
The cargoes are for delivery to its refineries at Cilacap, Balikpapan and a ship-to-ship transfer location at Teluk Semangka between January and March 2019.
Pertamina has also received some offers in other currencies, while some sellers chose to stick with the US dollar, a source familiar with the matter said, adding that the company is evaluating the offers.
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