Many unleaded gas users unaware of benefits

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): Despite all the clamor from the recent international talks in Kyoto on reducing pollutants, many users of unleaded gasoline here remain ignorant of its environmental benefits.

The attraction in buying unleaded -- sold under the two brands of Petro 2T and Super TT here -- lies more in the convenient location of its distributors and its price.

Reports of possible health effects on humans from lead contamination, such as hypertension and regression in intelligence in children, have apparently borne little weight among consumers.

"I don't know about unleaded gasoline, what is it? Is it a new brand of gasoline?" Suparjo, a driver of a three-wheeled bemo transportation vehicle, asked in Cililitan, East Jakarta.

He had just filled his tank with Petro 2T.

"I buy Petro because it is much cheaper, Rp 700 per liter," added the 44-year-old.

Petro is priced from Rp 675 up to Rp 800 per liter at roadside gas kiosks, and Super TT is Rp 900.

Suryadi, a minivan driver in Cililitan, said the kiosk selling Petro was close to his route "so there's no need for me to go to a gas station and line up with the other cars".

Suryadi said he formerly used Premix.

"I was told by my friend to use Petro, he said that it is good for the car's engine."

Suparjo and Suryadi also did not know that Super TT was unleaded, which actually means the gas contains a very small amount of the toxic metallic compound.

Petro's lead level is 0.005 gram per liter, and Super TT has 0.002 gram per liter.

Super TT is more favored by motorists who drive upmarket vehicles such as BMWs and Mercedes Benz.

Public transportation vehicles, like those driven by Suryadi and Suparjo, are often blamed for the capital's air pollution, ranked third in severity after Mexico City and Bangkok, according to the United Nations Environmental Program's 1996 report.

But monitoring by the city's environmental bureau has proved that the expensive private cars also emit harmful gases, and that the maligned transportation vehicles are not always guilty of spewing toxic exhaust fumes.

Limited

Clearly, limited distribution of Super TT and even harder to find stocks of Petro 2T is a major factor in the public's lack of awareness of their pluses. Consumers are unwitting environmental heroes whose fickle loyalty could easily be lost if prices of unleaded rose.

Provision of liquid gas as an unleaded alternative is also limited, and people are still wary of possible costs and necessary adjustments to their engines.

Super TT is only sold at several gas stations in Jakarta, although the municipality announced last year that this would increase.

Cheaper Petro 2T is sold by 40 distributors in East Jakarta and scattered locations in West and Central Java.

Petro 2T is produced and marketed by PT Sigma Rancang Perdana, which imports the raw materials.

Pertamina was previously the only company allowed to sell the raw materials for unleaded gasoline production. This changed after the issuance of a decree by Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana on March 24 last year.

Under the decree, which was issued to support the government's Blue Sky campaign and to phase out leaded gasoline by 1999, private companies are allowed to import raw materials for unleaded gasoline, including the two brands on the market now.

The decree also allows private gasoline makers to market their products themselves and set their own prices.

Sigma started Petro 2T production in February 1996 but it was still classified as leaded.

"We started producing unleaded gasoline in May 1996 soon after the decree's issuance," said Sigma's general manager Rita Marina.

Petro 2T, she said, was targeted for public transportation vehicles and the company would strive to keep it at inexpensive prices.

"In the current situation, where the value of rupiah is very low against the dollar, we are trying very hard to maintain the low price although we import the materials," said Rita.

The company now produces around 200,000 liters of Petro 2T per day, a decrease from 300,000 liters before the currency crisis.

Prices per liter depend on the location of the distributors.

"Usually, we offer the price at Rp 625 per liter," Rita said.

The director for air pollution control at the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal), Margana Koesoemadinata, is doing his best to set an example.

"Previously, I used Petro 2T for my car from a kiosk in my neighborhood. But, it closed down, so I turned to compressed gas fuel."

Rita admitted there were many problems hampering wider distribution, such as the Jakarta administration's unclear procedures.

She cited as an example the firm's mobile gas station selling Petro 2T in Cipinang, which operated after gaining a one-year permit from the subdistrict head and the local police precinct.

"But now we're not allowed to operate in Cipinang, even though our permit has not expired," Rita said.