Pertamina to lower high-octane gasoline, industry prices
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.