Jakartans brave LPG supply shortage<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Some Jakartans were still encountering difficulties in obtaining
\nLiquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) on Wednesday despite a recent
\nstatement from state oil and gas company Pertamina that it will
\nimmediately restore supplies and distribution throughout the
\ncity.<\/p>\n
\"I still can't find any LPG to buy in this area,\" said Ibu
\nRatih, a food stall vendor on Jl. Muara Baru, Penjaringan, North
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Like other residents in the area, Ratih usually seeks the help
\nof becak (pedicab) peddlers to buy the LPG for her. In the last
\nweek, the peddlers have always returned empty-handed.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, she said, she had a kerosene stove and could
\nstill buy kerosene that had not been subject to a price hike from
\nthe usual price of Rp 1,560 (18 US cents) per liter.<\/p>\n
\"But you can imagine how troublesome it is. I usually prepare
\nfood using two stoves but now can use only one.\"<\/p>\n
Rokhim, an LPG retailer in the area, said that he had been
\nrefusing demands for LPG from customers because supplies in Koja,
\nNorth Jakarta, had not arrived since last Friday.<\/p>\n
He even suggested his customers look for LPG at other stores
\non Jl. Bandengan or in Ancol.<\/p>\n
But even LPG vendors on Jl. Bandengan -- more than two
\nkilometers away from Jl. Muara Baru -- were short of stock, as
\nmost of their LPG tanks were empty.<\/p>\n
The same situation could be observed at the Kebayoran Lama
\ntraditional market in South Jakarta, where several stores that
\nusually retail LPG cylinders put up signs saying they had run out
\nof stock.<\/p>\n
At a Pertamina LPG agent on Jl. Kebayoran Lama Raya, South
\nJakarta, the LPG stock appeared to be adequate but a worker there
\nsaid that it had been nearly a week since supplies from
\nPertamina's LPG refilling station on Jl. Srengseng Raya, West
\nJakarta, had been delivered.<\/p>\n
\"We received only 100 cylinders yesterday, as compared with
\nthe usual 200,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Dedy Somantri, an official at the refilling station, said that
\nthe reduction had been made to ensure that all agents would
\nreceive at least an adequate stock, if not the usual amount.<\/p>\n
\"Even at Pertamina's LPG depot in Koja, our own supply trucks
\nhave to queue and share the supply with trucks from other
\nrefilling stations due to a shipment delay,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, some citizens in the area south of Jakarta, like
\nIbu Yul, a resident of Pamulang, Tangerang, were still able to
\nbuy LPG before the shortage occurred.<\/p>\n
\"But my neighbor asked me yesterday where I bought LPG,
\nbecause she couldn't find an outlet selling it anymore,\" she
\nsaid, adding that she feared an LPG price hike was imminent as
\nwas the case whenever an LPG shortage occurred.<\/p>\n
The city's supply and distribution of household LPG was
\ndisrupted earlier this week when a shipment of LPG from Singapore
\nwas delayed.<\/p>\n
Pertamina, however, said that two LPG shipments of 3,000
\nmetric tons and 3,150 metric tons respectively had arrived on
\nMonday. With the current stock of 4,500 metric tons, there would
\nbe no problem fulfilling the city's regular daily demand of 1,300
\nmetric tons.<\/p>\n
Pertamina has been temporarily importing LPG from Singapore
\nbecause its Balongan oil refinery in West Java is out of order.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, company spokesman Hanung Budya Yuktyanta said
\nthat the refinery, which can produce 1,200 metric tons of LPG per
\nday, would resume its normal operation starting on Thursday.<\/p>\n
LPG is widely used in urban households for cooking, and is
\nusually sold in 12-kilogram cylinders at Rp 34,200 each.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakartans-brave-lpg-supply-shortage-1447893297",
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