Pertamina to lower high-octane gasoline, industry prices

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

State oil and gas firm PT Pertamina plans to lower prices for fuel consumed by its industrial consumers by 3 percent next month and its high-octane gasoline and diesel fuel by Rp 200 (2 U.S. cents) per liter next week.

The lower fuel prices are the direct effects of the lower global oil prices, which have been declining steadily in the past month, Pertamina's fuel division head, Achmad Faisal said on Friday.

"Fuel prices for industrial customers will decline by as much as 3 percent next month," he said. Diesel fuel will most likely be cut to Rp 5,700 per liter from Rp 6,170 per liter at present.

The complete list of the prices will be announced at the end of this month, he said.

Most fuel types for industry -- which has been paying the actual market prices since July -- rose slightly in November. Kerosene is sold at Rp 6,480 a liter, diesel fuel at Rp 6,170 a liter and gasoline at Rp 5,890 a liter.

Prices for its unsubsidized high-octane gasoline products of Pertamax and Pertamax Plus will also be lowered by Rp 200 per liter from the present Rp 5,700 a liter and Rp 5,900 a liter, respectively.

Pertamina raised the prices of Pertamax from Rp 4,000 a liter and Pertamax Plus from Rp 4,200 per liter on Sept. 1, due to the soaring global oil prices.

"We will announce the prices on Sunday," said Faisal.

Pertamina has now begun to face competition in the retail sector after Royal Dutch Shell Plc. entered the market at the beginning of the month by opening an outlet in Karawaci, west of Jakarta.

Shell sells its high-octane products, with specifications similar to Pertamina's, at the same price.

According to spokesman Mochamad Harun, the daily offtake for the high-quality gasoline had declined to 500 kiloliters (kl) from 2,000 kl since Oct. 1, when the government raised the prices of subsidized fuel by 126.6 percent.

The price for Pertamina's high-quality diesel fuel Pertamina Dex, which was launched in July, will also be lowered by Rp 200 per liter from Rp 6,400 applied at present.

To fend off competition, Pertamina will also offer discounts of between 1 percent and 4 percent for industries that use more than 100 kl per month and 3,000 kl per month, respectively, starting this month.