Pertamina ensures enough fuel stock

State oil and gas firm PT Pertamina marketing director Ari Soemarno said in a hearing with House of Representatives Commission VII on energy late Monday that the company had enough fuel stock for 20.2 days from last week's 19 days as some banks had already agreed to issue letters of credit (L/C) required to guarantee import payments.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, meanwhile, said that based on surveys by six international surveyors, the government proposed an oil price range of between US$32 and $48 per barrel for the assumption of the 2005 state budget revision. During the hearing, both the government and the House considered raising the oil price assumption from the existing $35 per barrel to $40 per barrel. -- JP