Medan City Government Seeks Explanation for Fuel Queues at Pertamina Stations

The Medan City Government visited the Pertamina Patra Niaga Regional Sumbagut office to demand an explanation and ensure the handling of long vehicle queues at several petrol stations in Medan on Wednesday (15/7). This step was taken on the instruction of Medan Mayor Rico Tri Putra Bayu Waas to oversee the fuel distribution issue until it returns to normal. The Medan City Government received an explanation from Pertamina that the problem was purely a technical distribution constraint, not a shortage of fuel supply. In front of Pertamina officials, Citra explained that the city government’s visit was a follow-up to coordination carried out on 8 July. At a meeting also attended by the North Sumatra Regional Police, Hiswana Migas, and the Directorate General of Oil and Gas, Pertamina stated that fuel distribution to petrol stations was disrupted due to the replacement of a number of tanker drivers. At that time, Pertamina estimated conditions would return to normal by Friday (10/7). However, as of today, vehicle queues have grown longer and a number of petrol stations were reported to have temporarily run out of supply, both subsidised and non-subsidised fuel. ‘Therefore, we came to seek clarity. The public needs certainty about what is actually happening. Whether the constraints faced are still the same as previously conveyed or if there are other issues causing fuel distribution not to have returned to normal,’ said Citra. According to Citra, the Medan City Government is also ready to provide support so that the distribution issue is resolved immediately. On the ground, the city government has deployed personnel from the Transportation Agency and the Civil Service Police Unit to several petrol stations to help manage traffic flow and vehicle queues to remain orderly. ‘We, on the instruction of the Mayor, continue to oversee this fuel queue issue. We also offered to Pertamina, if there are matters that need assistance, the Medan City Government is ready to help,’ he said. The Medan City Government hopes that the distribution acceleration efforts made by Pertamina will yield results so that services at all petrol stations return to normal. Meanwhile, Sales Area Manager Retail Medan Pertamina Patra Niaga Regional Sumbagut, Tito Rivanto, appreciated the attention of the Medan City Government for coming directly to coordinate regarding fuel distribution. He stressed that fuel stocks in Medan are safe and can meet demand. Currently, Pertamina acknowledged it is carrying out internal improvements, particularly in the fuel distribution system using tanker truck fleets. The improvements are being carried out in parallel with efforts to maintain smooth distribution to all petrol stations. To accelerate normalisation, Pertamina has added tanker truck fleets, brought in drivers from external parties, and increased the number of petrol stations operating 24 hours in Medan City. ‘We hope these measures will gradually improve service to the public so that long queues that disrupt the conduciveness of Medan City do not occur again,’ said Tito. He added that Pertamina is making every effort so that the distribution of fuel to all petrol stations can return to normal soon. ‘We continue to strive so that the normalisation process can take place as quickly as possible,’ concluded Tito.