Pertamina launches market operation
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina launched a massive market operation yesterday by dropping a large quantity of lubricants at the gas stations across the city to help stabilize the market.
The operation, which is reportedly the first of its kind ever staged by Pertamina, also involved the company's dealers.
Pertamina deposited eight kiloliters of lubricants while its dealers distributed 20 kiloliters at 102 gas stations across the city.
"The market operation, which starts today, will continue until the market calms," said the head of the Jakarta and West Java operation of Pertamina's provision and marketing unit, Harry Poernomo S.
Pertamina decided to stage the market operation following reports that gas stations in Jakarta and its environs had begun to run short of lubricants over the last few weeks.
Some gas stations have even raised lubricant prices.
The price of the Pertamina-made Mesran Prima lubricant rose to between Rp 7,500 (63 US cents) and Rp 11,000 per liter-can some days ago at several gas stations, compared to its previous price of Rp 5,700.
Pertamina spokesman Ramli Djaafar has said the shortage occurred because some people had bought up large amounts of lubricants in a bid to profit from the situation following rumors Pertamina did not have enough lubricants and would soon raise prices.
Ramli said supply was plentiful and Pertamina had no intention at present to raise the price.
Harry said yesterday the supply shortage was an impact of the economic crisis.
He said traders of imported lubricants controlled about 30 percent of the Jakarta and West Java market prior to the economic crisis but had stopped operations due the rupiah's sharp depreciation against the U.S. dollar.
"Pertamina has therefore had to supply a larger market, including that previously filled by lubricant importers," Harry said.
The other cause of the shortage was that dealers faced problems distributing lubricants to retailers and gas stations during the days before and after the Idul Fitri holiday because most of their workers were on vacation, Harry said.
"Most dealers were in fact still on vacation yesterday. They only agreed to operate yesterday on our request."
Pertamina sold 376,677 kiloliters of lubricants in the 1996/1997 fiscal year, 34 percent of which or 125,923 liters was sold in Jakarta and West Java.
The company projects national demand will increase by 5.2 percent to 390,346 kiloliters in the 1997/1998 fiscal year.
Pertamina says its monthly supply of lubricants to Jakarta and West Java rose by 25 percent to 13,700 kiloliters in January.
Pertamina's supply of lubricants for car users in Jakarta and West Java dropped by 7 percent to 5,996 kiloliters in January, compared with December's figures, but supply to industries rose by 71 percent to 7,735 kiloliters in the same month. (jsk)