Analyst: National fuel reserves are around 20\u201321 days and are\nconsidered sufficient to meet energy needs under normal conditions, so\nthe public should not panic buy fuel. These reserves are stored across\nfacilities such as tank farms, floating storage, and tanker tanks at\nfilling stations, which continue to receive fresh supply regularly.<\/p>\n
Oil and gas practitioner and Secretary General of the Indonesian\nPetroleum Engineering Association (IATMI), Hadi Ismoyo, said that 21\ndays of BBM stock means the inventory could last for that period if\nthere were no additional supply. However, in practice, fuel deliveries\ncontinuously feed storage facilities, so energy distribution remains\nnormal. \u201cIf BBM reserves are 21 days and used continuously with no\nadditional supply, they would be exhausted in 21 days. But storage is\ndispersed across places such as tank farms, floating storage, bunkers at\nports, and SPBU tanks,\u201d he told reporters on Friday (6 March).<\/p>\n
He explained that roughly 20 days\u2019 reserves are not ideal, but still\nadequate because Indonesia is not in direct confrontation with other\ncountries. He said the ideal energy reserve standard is around 90 days,\nthough building extra storage facilities would incur very high\ncosts.<\/p>\n
For energy resilience, the government could increase storage capacity\nby renting facilities such as floating storage or tank farms in regional\nareas, for example in the Riau Islands or Singapore. This approach would\nbolster stock without having to build new infrastructure requiring large\ninvestments and long construction times.<\/p>\n
Based on his calculations, if Indonesia wanted to lift reserves from\nabout 20 days to 90 days, it would require an additional around 112\nmillion barrels of BBM, equivalent to 56 facilities with a capacity of 2\nmillion barrels each. Construction of these facilities would be\nestimated to require tens of billions of dollars and up to three\nyears.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, gradual increases are more realistic, for instance from\n20 days to around 30 days. With this approach, cost and infrastructure\nrequirements can be more controlled, while energy supply resilience\nwould rise.<\/p>\n
He also emphasised that global oil supply is actually sufficient\nbecause production globally is dominated by a few major countries like\nthe United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, global energy\navailability is more influenced by price factors and product\nspecifications rather than mere supply shortages.<\/p>\n
According to him, clear communication from the government and energy\nstakeholders is important so the public does not panic. \u201cPertamina and\nthe Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources should automatically\ncommunicate stock levels and mitigation steps to the public to prevent\npanic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Executive Director Mohammad Faisal of CoRE urged the public not to\npanic buy fuel amid rising geopolitical tensions. Minister of Energy and\nMineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia reported that national BBM reserves\nare safe above standard. President Prabowo instructed to construct new\nstorage in Sumatra to bolster energy. Vehicle queues at several SPBU\nstarted to rise from Friday morning (6 March).<\/p>\n
CoRE\u2019s Mohammad Faisal again urged the public not to panic buy BBM\namid mounting geopolitical tensions. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral\nResources assured that national BBM stocks are safe and subsidised\nprices remain stable amid the Middle East conflict. See the government\u2019s\nguidance to avoid panic buying. Long queues of vehicles filling BBM at\nSPBU in Aceh Tengah and Bener Meriah have persisted for three days. The\nphenomenon of panic buying has been observed in Bangka, Bangka\nBelitung.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/analyst-national-fuel-reserves-are-sufficient-government-could-add-floating-storage-1772812830", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }