Gasoline, gas, lube prices increase
JAKARTA (JP): State oil and gas company Pertamina has raised the prices of gasoline, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and lubricants following the government's move to cut fuel subsidies.
Pertamina, in a decree signed Monday but released yesterday, raised the price of Premix gasoline by 76 percent to Rp 1,500 (18 U.S. cents) per liter, Super TT gasoline by 77 percent to Rp 1,600 per liter, and BB2L gasoline by 75 percent to Rp 1,050 per liter.
Super TT and BB2L are gasoline variants with low lead and carbon dioxide contents, produced by Pertamina to support the government's Blue Sky program to promote a clean environment.
Pertamina also doubled the CNG price to Rp 550 per liter and raised LPG prices by 50 percent to Rp 840 per liter for vehicles and to Rp 1,500 per liter for households and industry.
CNG and LPG are used as fuel for some motor vehicles, mostly taxis. They have low lead and carbon dioxide contents.
In addition to being used by motor vehicles, LPG is more widely used by households.
Pertamina raised the price of LPG containers by an average of 50 percent to between Rp 200,000 and Rp 350,000 per unit.
Pertamina also raised the prices of its lubricants by an average of 50 percent to between Rp 6,600 and Rp 33,800 per liter.
Pertamina's lubricants carry the brands Mesran, Rored, Mesrania and Meditran.
The country's private lubricant producers, grouped in the Association of Indonesian Lubricant Producers (Aspelindo), said they would hike the prices of their products by the same amount as Pertamina had.
"We have to raise the prices of our products by a similar percentage as Pertamina. Otherwise, we shall suffer bigger losses amid the economic crisis," association chairman A.P. Batubara told The Jakarta Post yesterday, adding that lubricant producers imported 30 percent of their raw materials.
Batubara noted that the country's consumption of lubricants had dropped 50 percent to 300,000 metric tons annually because of the economic crisis and the consequent slowdown in industrial activity.
Aspelindo members control about 20 percent of the market. They include Wiraswasta Gemilang which produces the Pennzoil and Eva Lube brands; PT Dirga Buana Sarana, which produces the Valvoline and Union Oil brands; PT Agip Lubrindo Pratama; PT Cemerlang Pelumas Prima and PT Panutan Selaras.
Pertamina's gasoline, lube and gas price increases coincided with the government's decision Monday to raise the prices of fuel products and electricity.
The prices of fuel products were raised by between 25 percent and 71 percent, with premium gasoline experiencing the highest price hike of 71 percent to Rp 1,200 per liter.
The government also raised jet fuel by 43 percent to Rp 600 per liter, kerosene by 25 percent to Rp 350 per liter, automotive diesel by 58 percent to Rp 600, industrial diesel by 39 percent to Rp 500 per liter and marine fuel oil by 46 percent to Rp 350 per liter.
The government increased fuel prices to cut fuel subsidies from the projected Rp 16 trillion to Rp 4 trillion for the current fiscal year. (jsk)