19-07-2012

Celanese joint statement to advance the development of fuel ethanol projects with Pertamina

Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, today announced that it has entered into a Joint Statement of Cooperation to advance the development of fuel ethanol projects with Pertamina, the state-owned energy company of Indonesia. In line with its long-term strategy to develop new and renewable energy capabilities, Pertamina will collaborate exclusively with Celanese to jointly develop synthetic fuel ethanol projects in the Republic of Indonesia utilizing Celanese’s proprietary TCX® ethanol process technology.

“Celanese’s TCX® Technology can help Indonesia meet its growing demand for affordable, locally-sourced, high quality and safe liquid transportation fuel. High-octane fuel ethanol produced using TCX® Technology would help improve air quality through the reduction of particulate matter as well as nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide emissions,” said Steven Sterin, chief financial officer and president of Celanese’s Advanced Fuel Technologies business.

“These projects support many of the Indonesian government’s long-term objectives for the use of its abundant local resources, specifically lower-rank coal, to drive economic development, reduce imported energy requirements and to improve environmental and air quality standards. We are delighted to work with Pertamina to further develop this opportunity within Indonesia and look forward to working closely with them to bring many benefits to the country.”

Karen Agustiawan, President Director & CEO, PT Pertamina (Persero), said: “A major priority for Pertamina is supporting the Government of Indonesia in securing and managing our energy resources to meet rising demand among both businesses and consumers so we can continue to drive our economic growth to benefit all sections of the society. To meet this goal, we are pleased to be actively working with companies like Celanese on the development and application of new forms of energy, such as synthetic fuel ethanol.”

Indonesia’s current demand for transportation fuel in 2012 is expected to reach approximately 25 million tons and increase six percent annually through at least 2020. A 10 percent blend of high-octane fuel ethanol by 2020 would potentially require up to four world-scale TCX® Technology production units which could reduce Pertamina’s gasoline import requirements by over 30 million barrels annually. In addition, high-octane fuel ethanol, which improves tailpipe emissions, may also assist Pertamina in meeting Indonesia’s goals of improving the country’s gasoline and air quality standards.

Under the Joint Statement of Cooperation, Celanese and Pertamina will work together to define potential supply arrangements, production locations and distribution strategies. Following this work, along with final investment decisions made by each companies’ management, and receiving all necessary approvals, production could begin in approximately 30 months.