Pertamina boosts diesel supplies to end fuel crisis

JAKARTA (JP): State oil and gas company Pertamina has ensured that the diesel fuel crisis in the capital will end by Monday as it has increased supplies to gas stations throughout the city by 50 percent.

Starting on Friday, Pertamina supplied 5,200 kiloliters of diesel fuel per day, instead of 3,800 kiloliters as usual, to overcome the shortage which has hit gas stations in the past few days.

Pertamina's supplier and distributor unit acting chief A. Syafrudin, who oversees Jakarta, Banten and West Java provinces, told a media briefing on Saturday that his office has the capacity to double supplies.

But, he said, the distributors do not have sufficient oil trucks to deliver all of the 7,600 kiloliters to 269 gas stations selling diesel fuel in Jakarta.

"As of 9 a.m. today, we have distributed 1,712 kiloliters to 14 gas stations in East and West Jakarta, and we expect more reports on others. Diesel fuel supplies at gas stations should be more than enough now since they have received another 50 percent of buffer stock," he said.

Pertamina urged consumers to call toll-free hotline Hallo Pertamina on 0800-1-555555 straight away if they encounter a shortage of diesel fuel at any gas station.

Syafrudin also revealed that a number of Pertamina staff were now under investigation for their alleged part in irregularities in the distribution of diesel fuel.

Uncontrolled distribution has been the main cause of the recent crisis, Syafrudin said. He said that some action had been taken to anticipate diesel oil scarcity, which included more intensive monitoring of fuel distribution from Pertamina to gas stations.

Several monitoring units have been formed under joint coordination with the police and the prosecutors' offices to oversee the distribution of diesel fuel in gas stations as well as those distributed for bunkers, and also the distribution of kerosene.

"In the near future, Pertamina will also have its own tanker trucks and will develop a system to enable industrial customers to get their supplies directly from us, so they will not need to use the black market," Syafrudin said.

Jakarta's traffic was more congested than usual in recent days as long lines of vehicles queued at gas stations to buy diesel fuel. Many public transportation vehicles that mainly have diesel engines were forced to halt operations as they ran out of fuel.

Many believe this condition was the effect of the presidential decree issued in April that increased the price of diesel fuel for industry. The price of a liter of diesel fuel is Rp 990 (about 90 US cents) for industrial consumers, while the public can buy it at Rp 600 per liter at gas stations. Many industrial customers are believed to have bought subsidized fuel from public gas stations.

Syafrudin admitted that there were still long lines at gas stations on Saturday but he was sure that things would be brought under control.

Gas stations at the entrances to toll roads heading toward Merak, Cirebon and Bandung in West Java also ran out of diesel fuel, he said, adding that Pertamina was still seeking the best way to solve the problem.

Pertamina's deputy director of downstream operations Muchsin Bahar, who attended the media conference, apologized to consumers for the diesel fuel shortage. He stressed that the problem lay in the distribution and not the supply.

"I cannot identify which part of the distribution process is the culprit, whether it is the gas station owners or the oil transportation service companies. Hopefully this new policy will show where the problem lies," he said.

He added that the police and prosecutors are now studying the case to identify the appropriate charges to be made against the culprits, should a crime have been committed, such as stockpiling.

Antara reported on Saturday that Jambi and Batam provinces were also running out of diesel fuel.

Batam officials on Tuesday detained a vessel, Seagull, for carrying 80 kiloliter of diesel fuel alleged to have been smuggled, for sale in Singapore. (bby)