Fuel consumption up by 15 percent: Pertamina

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State oil and gas company Pertamina announced over the weekend that fuel consumption had increased by 15 percent over the past two months from the same period last year.

The company said fuel consumption through February stood at 189,700 kiloliters per day, up from 165,100 kiloliter per day in the same two-month period in 2004.

The increase is believed to be linked to the government's plan to increase fuel prices by an average of 29 percent next month.

"The increase is not a usual phenomenon. Usually, fuel consumption decreases in the early months of the year," Pertamina said in a statement.

The company said it had a 22-day fuel stock to ensure supply security should the government's plan to raise fuel prices come into effect.

Since the plan to raise fuel prices was announced, there have been allegations of stockpiling by distributors.

Pertamina also said in the statement that last year's unaudited fuel consumption reached 61.7 million kiloliters, with automotive diesel fuel accounting for 26.9 million kiloliters, or 44 percent of total consumption.

The statement also said the crude oil price last year was Rp 2,320 per liter, which was 93 percent of the total production cost of Rp 2,503 per liter.

Distribution delays continued to plague Pertamina last year due in part to limited production capacity and rampant fuel smuggling.

Also, company spokesman Mohammad Harun said Pertamina would launch a high-end automotive diesel fuel this year in response to market demand for a high performance, more environmentally friendly fuel.

The "Solar plus" fuel is currently undergoing a test trial.

"We cannot provide any further details on this particular product because it is still in the trial process. But we hope to launch the project as soon as possible," Harun told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

In a hearing with the House of Representatives recently, Pertamina president director Widya Purnama said the company would sell "Solar plus" at Rp 3,900 per liter, more than twice the current price of diesel fuel at Rp 1,650 per liter.

FUEL CONSUMPTION ----------------------------------------------------------------

FEB. 2004 FEB. 2005 TOTAL 2004

(in kiloliters) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Automotive diesel fuel 65,800 81,900 26.9 million

Premium 40,100 45,100 16.2 million

Kerosene 31,700 31,400 11.7 million

Fuel oil 17,600 18,800 5.7 million ----------------------------------------------------------------

Source: Pertamina