UPDATE 1-Indonesia 30-day fuel reserves plan to cost up to $24 bln -official

By Wilda Asmarini

(Reuters) - Indonesia's plan to develop 30 days' worth of fuel and oil emergency reserves is expected to cost up to $24 billion, and would be in addition to plans to boost operational reserves, an energy ministry official said on Wednesday.

The government hopes funding for the emergency reserve facilities would come from the private sector, but it may also come from state-owned firms, Oil and Gas Director General Wiratmaja Puja also told reporters.

He estimated that 45 million barrels of crude and fuel would be needed for the emergency reserves, assuming demand of 1.5 million barrels per day.

"The function of this storage buffer is for emergencies, like when there was a tsunami in Aceh, or wars. This requires a lot of fuel, so when there's an emergency we're ready for at least a month," Wiratmaja said.

The government hopes to begin designing the facilities next year, he said. The estimated investment cost of $17 billion-$24 billion would cover construction costs as well as the fuel and crude to fill new oil storage tanks, he said.

Regulations for the emergency reserves plan are currently being drafted and are expected to be released this year.

Indonesia also plans to develop operational fuel reserves to cover 30 days, up from around 22 days at present, Wiratmaja said, and has asked state oil and gas firm Pertamina and other companies to assist.

Last month Pertamina announced plans to build a fuel depot in Jakarta as part of this programme.

The government is also considering hiring storage from other firms and utilising facilities that oil and gas contractors are no longer using, he said.

During the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna last week, Indonesia's energy minister said Saudi Arabia and Angola had expressed an interest in investing in Indonesia's downstream sector. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Tom Hogue)

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