Pertamina denies fuel smuggling<\/p>\n
Amid recent reports of rampant smuggling on the Timor Leste and
\nIndonesian border, state oil and gas company PT Pertamina has
\ndenied responsibility for the practice. Following is an excerpt
\nof an interview with the head of Pertamina's Kupang operations,
\nAdi Nugroho.<\/p>\n
Question (Q): Who should be held responsible for the rampant
\nsmuggling?<\/p>\n
Answer (A): Smuggling is categorized as a criminal act. The case
\nshould be handled by the police and the military, not by
\nPertamina.<\/p>\n
Q: We have information indicating that the fuel quota for East
\nNusa Tenggara province this year is bigger than it was last year,
\nand that part of the fuel has been smuggled out to Timor Leste.
\n
\nA: That information is incorrect.<\/p>\n
Q: But we have data stating that last year, East Nusa Tenggara's
\nquota for Premium was 100,295 kiloliters, diesel fuel 177,242
\nkiloliters and kerosene 105,060 kiloliters. This year, the quote
\nwas increased to 117,067 kiloliters for Premium and 186,187 for
\ndiesel fuel, but the kerosene quota was reduced to 89,662
\nkiloliters. It makes no sense that there is a fuel scarcity in
\nEast Nusa Tenggara because the quota has been increased this
\nyear. It is possible that some of the fuel was smuggled out to
\nTimor Leste at the expense of East Nusa Tenggara residents.<\/p>\n
A: The information on the fuel quota may have come from the East
\nNusa Tenggara governor. The truth is that the quota for Premium
\nlast year was higher than this year, namely 124,981 kiloliters.
\nSimilarly, the Premium and diesel fuel quotas for last year were
\nhigher than for this year. Regarding information that the fuel
\nquota for Timor Leste was reduced, that I don't know about. To
\ndate, the party that supplies fuel to Timor Leste is Pertamina's
\ndepot in Atambua, West Timor regency, and they only supply
\nPremium. We also noticed that between January and July 2005, the
\nPertamina depot in Atapupu, Belu regency, also exported 700
\nkiloliters of Premium in total to Timor Leste. All of that was
\nused to meet demand by United Nations workers.<\/p>\n
Q: Besides the Pertamina depot in Atambua and Atapupu, do any
\nother Pertamina depots supply fuel to Timor Leste?<\/p>\n
A: A Pertamina depot in Surabaya, East Java, has also supplied
\nfuel to Timor Leste, but always based on memorandums of
\nunderstanding between Pertamina and Timor Leste officials.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you think is the main cause behind the widespread fuel
\nshortage in East Nusa Tenggara? Is fuel smuggling the cause?<\/p>\n
A: No comment. However, we suspect the fuel shortage is due to
\nthe increasing number of motorcycles and cars. While the number
\nof cars and motorcycles is on the rise, the fuel quotas for the
\nprovince are not and have even decreased, leading to fuel
\nscarcities. We also suspect that some traders hoard fuel to sell
\nwhen prices go up.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pertamina-denies-fuel-smuggling-1447893297",
"image": ""
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