Fuel consumption up by 15 percent: Pertamina
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
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FEB. 2004 FEB. 2005 TOTAL 2004
(in kiloliters)
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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
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Source: Pertamina