SumiSaujana To Expand Into Indonesia With Wet Gas Sulphuric Acid Facility 

From Zufazlin Baharuddin

JAKARTA, Dec 19 (Bernama) -- SumiSaujana Group Bhd (SumiSaujana) plans to expand its footprint into Indonesia after wholly owned subsidiary SumiSaujana TCM Chemicals Sdn Bhd (SSTCM) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly explore the development of a wet gas sulphuric acid (WSA) facility at PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional’s (KPI) refinery units in Indonesia.

The MoU was signed with KPI, SPCI HELM Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Denmark-based TOPSOE A/S.

SumiSaujana executive deputy chairman Toh Chee Seng said that under the MoU, the parties will collaborate to evaluate the technical, commercial and financial feasibility of implementing a WSA project under a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model.

The proposed facility will convert acid gas produced during refinery operations into commercial-grade sulphuric acid, while recovering heat to be reused, helping reduce emissions and comply with environmental regulations.

This circular waste-to-value approach helps reduce sulphur emissions and other pollutants, lowers overall greenhouse gas emissions, supports compliance with environmental regulations, and aligns with refinery operators’ broader low-carbon and energy efficiency objectives by turning industrial waste into useful products and energy.

“Indonesia is a net importer of sulphuric acid. Currently, Indonesia aims to minimise imports of crude oil and other key commodities as the country seeks to become more self-sufficient.

“So this refinery plant is expected to produce sulphuric acid from WSA which will help reduce the country’s reliance on imported sulphuric acid,” he told Bernama.

Besides, SumiSaujana executive director and chief operating officer Ramli Mohamad said the collaboration represents the first Malaysian-led green technology initiative in the country.

“We believe that by embracing this green process we can better support environmental, social and governance. We have to move in this direction and take steps for the company to think about the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, KPI chief executive officer Taufik Aditiyawarman said the refinery plant is expected to begin operations in 2029 with an investment of around US$50 million–US$100 million.

“This is part of the downstreaming strategy from our refinery to create a more valuable product from our refinery, so there are many opportunities from the refinery that can be further processed into downstream and also creating more value to our business,” he said.

KPI, a sub-holding company of Indonesia’s national oil company PT Pertamina (Persero) will provide the necessary refinery data, site access and operational support to facilitate the feasibility assessment.

Meanwhile SSTCM is responsible for leading the technical and commercial evaluation of the project, leveraging its experience in specialty chemicals and refinery-related solutions.

The scope includes coordination with TOPSOE on WSA technology inputs, engineering considerations and proprietary process requirements, as well as collaboration with SPCI HELM on sulphuric acid offtake, logistics and downstream market considerations.

The MoU was signed by Toh, Taufik, TOPSOE Southeast Asia managing director Amrul Atiqi Sansudin and SPCI HELM Malaysia chief executive officer Teah Choon Lee.

-- BERNAMA