Fuel shortages hit E. Nusa Tenggara
The Jakarta Post, Kupang/Cirebon
More fuel shortages have hit East Nusa Tenggara, pushing premium gasoline up to Rp 15,000 (US$1.5) a liter for motorists, stopping buses and public minivans in major towns and grounding fishermen who depend on diesel for their boats.
The shortages affected motorists in the East and West Sumba regencies on Thursday and fishermen in Kupang city and Manggarai regency, many of whom left their boats on shore. Shortages of kerosene meant housewives in some areas turned to firewood as a cooking source.
In the West Sumba capital of Waikabubak, most buses and minivans had stopped operating on Wednesday, with many people forced to walk to work. Other vehicles were seen lining up at gas stations, waiting for fresh supplies to arrive.
"We've been at this gas station since Wednesday night, waiting to get diesel," said Umbu Maniaga, a bus driver.
On Sumba island, retailers were seen selling premium gasoline at Rp 15,000 a liter, more than six times the official Rp 2,400 rate.
In Manggarai regency, the lack of diesel for fishermen meant a corresponding increase in fish prices at local markets.
Manggarai Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Office head Primus Darman called for state oil company Pertamina to immediately plug the deficit in the area.
"Many fishermen have come to me, complaining about the diesel shortages. If the situation is left as it is, it will affect the fishermen's livelihoods and the regency's revenue," he said.
In Kupang, kerosene has been hard to find since Saturday, with the Oebobo, Alak and Kelapalima subdistricts the worst hit.
Pertamina Kupang marketing unit head Winrian Kurnia blamed the scarcity on the decreasing supply allocations from the central government coupled with increasing usage, saying the province had already used 54 percent of its yearly allocation in the first five months.
The government allocated 117,067 kiloliters of premium gasoline for the province this year. "We have used 63,314 kiloliters from January to June, the rest is meant for the next six months," Winrian said.
Out of the allotted 186,187 kiloliters of diesel, 93,288 kiloliters or around 50.1 percent had been used by June, he said.
A tanker carrying premium and diesel fuel would deal with the shortage but on only in the Belu and Timor Tengah Utara regencies, Winrian said.
"The ship has arrived at Atapupu harbor in Atambua and will deal with fuel shortage in Sumba. Pertamina will also distribute additional premium and diesel fuel from the ship to the Lembada and Rote Ndao regencies."
Winrian did not know when the other affected areas, especially Kupang city and Manggarai would be supplied.
Meanwhile, in Cirebon, West Java, some 18,000 fishermen have abandoned their boats because of the escalating price of diesel, which has reached Rp 5,480 a liter in the area from the official price of Rp 2,100.
In Gebang Kulon village, hundreds of boats were seen sitting idle in the harbor.
"It's been two weeks since the boats have been like that ... The fishermen cannot afford these high diesel prices," a village head, Sobirin, said.
East Nusa Tenggara and Cirebon were some of the many regions affected by the nationwide fuel shortage in June, which occurred when Pertamina could not afford to import more petrol after it exceeded the government's national supply quotas.