Pertamina sells new diesel fuel
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
State oil and gas company PT Pertamina has launched a new environmentally friendly diesel fuel, called Pertamina DEX, and will adjust the price of its high quality fuel products monthly according to global oil prices.
Pertamina DEX, an abbreviation for Diesel Environment Extra, is for now priced at Rp 6,300 (about 65 U.S. cents) per liter, almost triple the price of Rp 2,200 applied for subsidized, lower-quality diesel fuel, said Pertamina president director Widya Purnama on Monday.
"The price will follow current global oil prices," said Widya. Brent crude oil price has passed the $66 mark, reaching a record high at $66.77 a barrel last week.
Pertamina expects 5,000 cars to start using the new product, which complies with Euro II standards, with an estimated demand of 26 kiloliters per day.
The new fuel will meet the demand from car importers, which has been reluctant to bring in sophisticated diesel-engined vehicles, due to lack of products that meet their requirements.
Pertamina DEX will be sold at several gasoline stations in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, Rawamangun, East Jakarta, Jembatan Tiga, North Jakarta, and Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta.
The company also expects the prices of Pertamax and Pertamax Plus, its premium gasoline products, to rise next month, possible to more than the Rp 5,000 and Rp 5,200 per liter, respectively, as initially planned.
"We're still calculating the prices. They will be based on the average MOPS (Mid Oil Platts Singapore) prices this month," said Pertamina's sales and distribution head Achmad Faisal.
At present, Pertamax is retailed at Rp 4,000 a liter while Pertamax Plus is sold at Rp 4,200 per liter.
Subsidized premium gasoline is sold at Rp 2,400 a liter.
The new product provides vehicle owners with more options and is line with the government's possible move to impose a policy, which will force all vehicles with engines bigger than 2,000 cc to use unsubsidized fuel -- in a bid to help suppress fuel consumption and subsequently the ballooning cost of the fuel subsidy.
The government is also considering the option of raising luxury taxes for cars with engines of between 1,500 cc and 3,000 cc to halt the rapid growth of car sales in the country.
The association of car producers expects 550,000 new cars to hit the road this year, higher than the 483,000 units sold last year.
The fuel subsidy is estimated to double to Rp 138 trillion from Rp 76.5 trillion allocated in the state budget should oil remains at $60 a barrel and without efforts to reduce consumption.