Refinery delay adds to pollution woes

Refinery delay adds to pollution woes

By John Aglionby

INDONESIA's urban pollution problems are set to worsen
following the postponement of the construction of Pertamina's
proposed new oil refinery.

The new refinery in Cilacap, Central Java, would have
concentrated on producing unleaded gasoline, a key requirement in
reducing vehicle emissions and subsequent urban smog.

The indefinite postponement of the refinery is yet another
fallout from the current economic crisis that has decimated much
of Indonesia's industrial sector, particularly the automotive
industry.

Since July, the country's carmakers have been complaining
about being the victims of a double body blow; rising production
costs and declining demand, but this latest setback will probably
prove much more costly in the long run.

The consequence of this delay is that Indonesia does not have
a hope of meeting President Soeharto's target of phasing out
leaded gasoline by 1999.

This in turn means that not only will pollution levels remain
higher for several years more than was hoped 12 months ago, but
Indonesian motorists will be unable to benefit from advances in
engine technology because the majority depend on using unleaded
gas.

The chairman of the Indonesian Automotive Manufacturer's
Association, Herman Latif, said: "It depends on how quickly the
monetary and economic mess can be sorted out but a time
correction of probably two to three years will have to be made to
this target (of phasing out leaded gasoline)."

He believes there is no option but to be patient. "This is not
the time to push the government on this sort of thing. We must
just wait until the situation improves."

Other organizations disagree. Swisscontact, a Swiss
institution advising the authorities on ways to reduce air
pollution, particularly in Jakarta, says the introduction of
unleaded gasoline should be a priority and not be seen as a
postponable luxury.

"The problem with not introducing unleaded gasoline is that
the costs are not visible immediately. They are hidden and spread
out across the economy and the community," according to Hugo
Sager, Swisscontact's deputy project leader.

The most visible consequence is the pollution and, unless this
is tackled, experts believe Indonesia will face an increased
annual health care bill of about US$180 million. It has also been
proven that a child's IQ levels drops if he or she is exposed to
continuously high levels of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,
ozone, lead and other pollutants.

Vehicle engines also run less efficiently on leaded gasoline.
They require servicing more often and are unlikely to last as
long as those run on lead-free fuel.

Last week in Bali hundreds of the world's leading automotive
engineers, designers and researchers gathered for the ninth
International Pacific Conference on Automotive Engineering.

Its subtitle was Motor Vehicle and Environment, but the main
point local attendees took home was that it will be some years
before Indonesia begins to reduce the 12 to 15 year gap between
technology available here and in the rest of the world.

Sager said: "It was a very technical conference, for instance
there were discussions on which angle an engine valve should be
at to reduce NOX emission. But the common theme was that all
these ultra-lean engines that save fuel and cut greenhouse gas
emissions run on unleaded gas.

"Hopefully the government will see in which direction the
industry is heading and it will see that Indonesia must head in
the same direction or it will be left even further behind," he
said.

One Indonesian automotive industry executive who attended
said: "Car prices in Indonesia are already very high and unless
we can use the latest technology, that is being used in the rest
of the world, then they are not going to get any cheaper."

Some, albeit small, advances have been made. A liter of
unleaded gas, Super TT, is now only Rp 50 (1.3 U.S. cents) more
than Premix, Rp 900 as opposed to Rp 850, and the number of gas
stations selling Super TT has increased in the last few months
from six to 27.

But further progress on the engine technology and pollution
fighting fronts is dependent on Pertamina increasing the supply
of Super TT on a massive scale and making it cheaper than leaded
fuel, Sager says.

"Only then will manufacturers fit catalytic converters as a
matter of course which will both reduce pollution and improve
engine efficiency," he said.

But, as the postponement of the Cilacap refinery suggests,
Pertamina -- which declined to comment on the issue -- is in no
hurry to speed up the pace of change.

So the widespread use of unleaded fuel in Indonesia, and its
resulting benefits, is likely to remain a pipe dream until well
into the next century.