Sun, 23 Jul 2000

Jakarta in short supply of leaded fuel

JAKARTA (JP): A number of gas stations in the capital continue to face a significant shortage of leaded fuel due to a dearth of supplies from state-owned oil company Pertamina.

Interviewed separately by The Jakarta Post on Saturday, managers and employees at several stations said Pertamina could only supply between one-third and half of their orders.

The limited stock of leaded fuel, or premium, has forced many motorists to spend extra money to purchase unleaded fuel, or premix, which costs Rp 1,500 per liter compared to the Rp 1,000 per liter for premium.

"We used to have two or three trucks delivering premium every day here .... But it's already been five days that we have received only one truck a day," said Marjono, a manager at a gas station on Jl. Pakubuwono in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

Pertamina's oil distribution center in Plumpang, North Jakarta, supplies fuel to all of the gas stations in Greater Jakarta. The fuel is delivered in trucks operated by private firms.

Ade, a manager at a gas station on Jl. Raya Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, agreed with Maryono that fuel deliveries had been irregular over the past few days. "We usually receive leaded gas between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., but since five days ago the trucks have arrived at the station outside these regular times. Sometimes they arrive here after midnight."

The stock of leaded gas at the station had run out on Thursday, Ade said. "Many customers left us and went to other gas stations."

A gas station on Jl. Pejompongan Raya in Central Jakarta had no premium on Saturday. The staff placed two garbage cans and an iron bar in front of the leaded gas pumps to inform customers there was no premium available.

Sudjono, a manager at the station, said the fuel truck did not come to the station in the morning. "The truck used to arrive here at 9 a.m, but as of now (10:30 a.m.) it hasn't showed up."

A motorist, Syahrul, who works at printing company PT Kreasi Prima, said he had no option but purchase premix for his Daihatsu Zebra van. "I'm almost out of gas, so I don't have any choice but purchase unleaded fuel even though it's more expensive."

Contacted by the Post on Saturday, Pertamina's head of fuel supplies for West Java and Jakarta, Tuty Anggrahini, urged Jakartans not to worry or panic about the lack of leaded fuel, because the capital was Pertamina's top priority for fuel distribution.

Tuty said extra fuel imports from Singapore had just arrived in Jakarta and that more were on their way. However, she did not say how much fuel Pertamina had purchased from Singapore.

She estimated the Balongan refinery in West Java, which has halted operation for repairs, would resume its normal production and begin supplying fuel by Wednesday.

Jakarta and West Java get most of their fuel from the Balongan refinery.

Tuty said motorists in Jakarta had been rushing to fuel stations since Friday following media reports of fuel shortages.

The demand for fuel in Greater Jakarta, she said, had soared to 9,000 kiloliters per day from 7,200 kiloliters a day.

"So please don't write about a fuel shortage or else people will continue to rush to the stations," she said.

Pertamina earlier said some of the fuel earmarked for East Java and Bali had been diverted to Jakarta and West Java.

Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recently said 200,000 barrels of additional fuel from Malaysia and 300,000 barrels from China had arrived in the country. A second shipment of 400,000 barrels from Malaysia would soon follow, he added.

According to Bambang, the increase in the nation's fuel buffer stock was aimed at meeting rising national fuel consumption. (asa/bkm)