Govt, Pertamina, PGN to sign MOU on gas supply

Govt, Pertamina, PGN to sign MOU on gas supply

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration, state-owned oil company PT Pertamina,
and gas distributor PT PGN will sign on Friday a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on the supply of compressed natural gas (CNG)
for public transportation vehicles in the capital.

Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Thursday that the MOU,
which will be signed by Governor Sutiyoso and the president
directors of both Pertamina and PGN, was part of an effort to
gradually replace gasoline-powered vehicles with CNG-powered
ones.

He added that the use of natural gas would begin with buses
running along busway corridors II and III from Pulo Gadung bus
terminal in East Jakarta to Kalideres bus terminal in West
Jakarta in December.

According to Bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution control
endorsed in February, all public transportation vehicles are
required to use CNG in an effort to reduce air pollution in
Jakarta -- the world's third-most polluted city after Mexico City
and Bangkok.

Under the MOU, Pertmina will guarantee the supply of CNG gas,
while PGN will be responsible for distributing the gas through
its pipe networks. The city administration, meanwhile, will act
as the regulator.

Fauzi said the administration had decided to develop gas pipe
networks, instead of transporting the gas using trucks from large
gas stations to smaller ones as it was considered unsustainable.

He said that the city administration was now inviting private
companies interested in developing a gas pipe network that would
connect the main gas networks owned by PT PGN to CNG stations.

Four private companies have expressed interest in building
gas networks in order to serve 200 busway vehicles to be operated
in Corridors II and III.

He said the administration was also interested in developing
the pipe network, but could not do it as it had not allocated a
fund for such a project this year.

"But in the future, we will take part in creating more gas
pipe networks to serve buses operating in other corridors," said
Fauzi.

The city plans to develop 14 to 15 busway corridors across the
city by 2007 to improve public transportation. All buses plying
the busway corridors will use CNG.

When asked about the city's preparations for the mandatory use
of CNG for all public transportation vehicles as stated in Bylaw
No. 2/2005, Fauzi said it would be implemented gradually,
considering that a gas distribution system across the city was
not yet in place.

"We cannot expect it to be implemented all at once," he added.

According to Pertamina, only 10 out of 17 CNG stations in
Greater Jakarta are still operating. A number of taxi drivers,
who drive CNG-powered vehicles, said the number of CNG stations
that were still functioning was less than five.

Due to the distance between CNG stations and the resultant
inconvenience for refilling, the number of vehicles using CNG has
also continued to drop. According to Pertamina, there were only
some 500 vehicles using CNG last year as compared to 1,500 in
2003, 2,500 in 2022, 4,660 in 2001, and 6,633 in 2000.