Padang lacking kerosene

Padang lacking kerosene

PADANG, West Sumatra: The disappearance of kerosene from the
West Sumatra capital of Padang is still unresolved, prompting
complaints from residents about the fuel's increasing price.

Several distributors and retailers in Alai, Purus, Ulak Karang
and Lapai, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the state gas
and oil producer Pertamina had not supplied extra kerosene to
deal with the problem.

They said that people queued for kerosene every morning and
had to pay between Rp 600 and Rp 900 a liter. In the Mentawai
Islands a liter of kerosene costs Rp 2,000.

Previously, one liter of kerosene cost Rp 430 per liter in
West Sumatra.

Reports claim that kerosene disappeared from Padang soon after
the government announced its plan to increase fuel prices in
April.

There has been no official explanation of the kerosene
shortage in Padang which started one week ago.

Agus Taufik Harahap, head of Pertamina's local sales
department, said that his office had also been puzzled by the
fact that Padang was lacking kerosene.

"We supply 510,000 liters of kerosene every day through 48
distributors in West Sumatra," Agus said, suggesting that
retailers had been stockpiling the product for their own benefit.
(28/sur)