Drive against leaded gasoline uncertain

Drive against leaded gasoline uncertain

JAKARTA (JP): Despite the government's promise to free Jakarta
from leaded gasoline starting Sunday, Jakartans will still inhale
the poisonous substance from vehicle exhausts as the drive to
free the city from leaded fuel will not materialize until the end
of July.

A spokesman of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, M.
Alwi Adil, said on Thursday that the failure to meet the target
was caused by technical difficulties in cleaning the residue of
leaded gasoline from refinery plants and gas stations.

Pertamina, Alwi said, had actually stopped injecting lead into
its refinery plant in Balongan, West Java, which supplies Jakarta
with fuel, since June 15. The refinery, he said, started piping
unleaded fuel to Jakarta on Wednesday.

"However, it would still be mixed with leaded fuel because gas
stations still have the remaining leaded gasoline," he told The
Jakarta Post over the phone.

"But hopefully, in the first week of July, all gasoline
supplied by gas stations in the capital really will be free from
lead," Alwi added.

However, an official at Pertamina's directorate of downstream
industries, Nurfai, said earlier that it would take from six
months up to one year to really clean up the repository at the
Balongan refinery plant.

"The Balongan refinery still contains lead. Based on
experience in the United States, it can take up to four years to
really rid refinery plants of lead," he told reporters on the
sidelines of a discussion on unleaded gasoline.

Fuel from Balongan refinery plant, however, is enough to
supply about 180 gas stations out of a total of 382 gas stations
in the city. The remaining supplies for Jakarta gas stations come
from Pertamina's refinery in Cilacap, Central Java.

The total fuel consumption of all gas stations in the capital
reaches some 17,000 kiloliter of premix per month and some
240,000 kiloliters of premium per month.

"Hopefully, all gas stations will soon receive supplies of
unleaded fuel. If something happens with the refinery in
Balongan, there is a backup supply from Cilacap, Central Java,"
Nurfai said.

He explained that Pertamina would also clean up Cilacap plant
from lead.

Lead is added to fuel because it is a cheap way to boost
engine performance. However, it causes environmental and health
problems and leads to impaired intelligence among children.

The substitute is a chemical substance called High Octane
Mogas Component (HOMC), which is more expensive though more
environmentally-friendly.

Although Jakarta will not be totally free from leaded
gasoline, the government is to proceed with the launching of
unleaded gasoline in the capital on Sunday.

The inauguration is to be held at City Hall and will be
followed with the filling of certain gas stations with unleaded
gasoline, according to Ahmad Safrudin, chief executive of the
Committee for Leaded Fuel Eradication.

But many people, including attendants at several gas stations
said they were not aware of the government's plan to free Jakarta
from leaded gasoline.

"I think I've heard about it but I'm not sure what it is
exactly," said Samari, an operator at Kemandoran gas station in
West Jakarta

Samari said that the owner of the gas station was invited by
Pertamina earlier on Tuesday for a briefing on the use of leaded
gasoline.

"I read the invitation and was wondering what unleaded
gasoline was," he asserted.

Attendants at Petamburan and Pejompongan gas stations also
made similar comments.

"We're only operators of the gas station. I think unleaded gas
is the boss' responsibility," Jaka, an attendant at Petamburan
gas station, said.

A minivan driver even said that he was surprised and that he
had never heard about unleaded gasoline.

"Is the price higher than the usual gasoline? If so, we should
protest again," said the driver.

The government has decided to subsidize unleaded gasoline so
that its price will remain the same at Rp 1,450 (13 U.S. cents)
per liter for unleaded premium and Rp 1,900 per liter for
unleaded premix.

Following the initiative in Jakarta, the government has
commited itself to freeing the whole country from leaded gasoline
in the year 2003. (hdn/bby/emf/jun)