How Pertamax Disappeared from Petrol Stations on the Medan-Binjai Road
Long queues of trucks have become a daily sight at petrol stations along the Medan-Binjai road in North Sumatra, with lines of vehicles waiting for fuel taking up half the road and causing traffic jams. There are at least six petrol stations along the route, three on each side, stretching from Kampunglalang to Merdeka Square in Binjai. Observations show queues for Pertalite snaking into five lanes, while there are no queues for Pertamax. A petrol station attendant at SPBU Number 13.207.109 in the Sei Semayang area told a customer that only Pertamax Turbo was in stock.
Marni, a resident of Binjai City, said she had been searching for Pertamax since Sunday. She commutes daily between Binjai and Medan for her job at a printing company on Jalan Wahid Hasyim. She recounted that on Sunday night, all the petrol stations she passed from Medan to Binjai had queues resembling a concert crowd, and her motorcycle ran out of fuel when she arrived home. The following Monday, she was forced to use an online motorcycle taxi, spending Rp100,000 for a round trip. On Tuesday, she queued for almost two hours only to find Pertamax had run out, forcing her to buy Pertalite sold in 1.5-litre bottles for Rp30,000 each. By Wednesday, the queues remained chaotic and Pertamax had disappeared, leaving her to buy it from roadside vendors at Rp23,000 per litre. Marni noted that everyone is now looking for Pertalite and questioning why Pertamax has also vanished. She is reluctant to use Pertamax Turbo in her 2015 motorcycle, fearing the RON 98 fuel is not suitable for her vehicle.
At the Tanah Tinggi petrol station in Binjai, a transportation agency officer confirmed that only Pertamax Turbo was available, with queues stretching four lanes. At another station on Jalan Jenderal Gatot Subroto, queues of trucks and motorcycles almost filled the narrow road, with a customer stating he had been waiting an hour for Pertalite as Pertamax was unavailable. The situation has also worsened in Medan. Medan City’s Assistant for Economic Affairs and Development, Citra Effendi Capah, visited the Pertamina Patra Niaga North Sumatra regional office following a virtual coordination meeting on 8 July involving Pertamina, Hiswana Migas, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas, and the North Sumatra Police. Pertamina had previously explained that the distribution disruption was caused by a technical operational issue, specifically the replacement of tanker drivers, and estimated conditions would normalise by 10 July. However, the situation on the ground has not improved, with queues growing longer and several stations running out of both subsidised and non-subsidised fuel. Capah stated the visit was to seek clarity and certainty for the public regarding the ongoing distribution problems.
Pertamina Patra Niaga’s Retail Sales Area Manager for Medan, Tito Rivanto, claimed that fuel stocks are currently safe. He said the company is undertaking internal improvements, particularly in the tanker distribution system, while simultaneously working to maintain smooth supply to all stations. To accelerate normalisation, Pertamina has added more tankers, recruited external drivers, and increased the number of 24-hour petrol stations in Medan. Separately, the North Sumatra Police’s Intelligence and Security Directorate dispatched dozens of fuel tankers from the Medan Group Fuel Terminal to various stations in Medan, Deliserdang, and Dairi, with traffic police escorts. North Sumatra Police spokesperson Commissioner Ferry Walintukan urged the public to remain calm and avoid panic buying, assuring that distribution is ongoing and all stakeholders are overseeing the process.