Pertamina guarantees fuel supply in Jakarta
Pertamina guarantees fuel supply in Jakarta
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The state oil and gas company Pertamina guaranteed on Thursday
that the supply of fuel in Greater Jakarta would not be disrupted
despite a massive 2-day strike by thousands of fuel truck drivers
at the fuel depot in Plumpang, North Jakarta, on Wednesday and
Thursday.
A spokesperson for the company's domestic market unit, Awi
Adil, told Antara that the strike did not affect the supply of
gasoline or diesel fuel to any gas stations, nor the supply of
kerosene for industries.
According to Pertamina, the drivers were expected to resume
normal operations on Friday.
Adil admitted, however, that on Wednesday, between 11,000 and
12,000 kiloliters of kerosene could not be transported and
distributed to various parts of the Greater Jakarta.
"But one thing is for sure, we still have an adequate supply
of kerosene and there will not be a scarcity," he claimed.
Despite the massive strike, Suhar, a vendor in Sumur Batu
traditional market in Cempaka Baru, Central Jakarta confirmed
that he had not had any problems with his supply of kerosene for
household consumption.
"I didn't even know there was a strike, everything seemed
normal," said Suhar.
Thousands of drivers went on strike on Wednesday to protest
Pertamina's bureaucracy in the disbursement of the fuel which
comes from the Plumpang fuel depot.
They complained that they had to get delivery orders from the
company's offices on Jl. Kramat Raya, Central Jakarta, which is
located far from Plumpang, before being allowed to fill up their
trucks. They also protested the complicated procedures to obtain
an ID card issued by the company.
General Manager of Pertamina's domestic marketing unit
Sumarsono said he had fulfilled the drivers' request and would
ease the bureaucracy.
"As their demands have been met, we expect the distribution
process to be back to normal, but the drivers said they wanted to
'rest' today anyway," he said on Thursday morning.
On a given day, the Plumpang depot provides between 7,000 and
8,000 kiloliters of diesel fuel and between 7,000 and 7,500
kiloliters of gasoline to gas stations all over Greater Jakarta.