Pertamina dyes gasoline for poor

JAKARTA: State oil and gas company Pertamina has launched a program to dye gasoline for households and small industries green to prevent big business from buying the fuel allocated for the poor.

Under a presidential decree issued early this year, the government provides as substantial subsidy for kerosene for households and small enterprises, but smaller amounts of subsidy for kerosene for mid-size and big industries.

The price of fuel for households and small enterprises is set at Rp 600 per liter, while the price of fuel for mid-size and big industries is charged by Pertamina on a monthly basis to reach 75 percent of the international price. This month, the price is at Rp 1,750 per liter.

Pertamina however faces difficulties in preventing fuel allocated for small enterprises and households from being sold by corrupt officials to mid-size industries and big industries.

Pertamina said in a statement Thursday that through the dyeing policy the company hoped to be more capable of preventing the fuel from being sold to big business. It would impose sanctions on mid-sized to big industries which were caught storing green- dyed gasoline. -- JP