Shell opens gas station in Karawaci

Shell Indonesia, a local arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, opened its first retail outlet (photo) at the upmarket Lippo Karawaci housing estate in Tangerang, some 20 kilometers west of Jakarta.

Shell offers Super and Super Extra gasoline with octane levels of 92 and 95, respectively. The Super is sold at Rp 5,700 (57 U.S. cents) per liter while Super Extra is offered at Rp 5,900.

The two types of gasoline are direct competitors for state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina's Pertamax and Pertamax Plus, which are sold at the same prices.

The retail outlet is Shell's first investment plan in the downstream sector, following the implementation of Law No. 22/2001 on oil and gas. The implementation ended Pertamina's monopoly in the downstream sector as well.

"We are proud to be back in the fuel business in Indonesia," Shell Indonesia country chairman Bob Moran said in a statement. "This site is the first of a series of outlets under development and we are prepared to make significant investments in the fuel retailing business in Indonesia."

Shell, which gets the supply of its high octane fuel from Singapore, will open its next outlet in Warung Buncit, South Jakarta, hopefully by the end of the year.

Chairman of the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Body Tubagus Haryono said that "customers will have a choice, which will lead to improved service levels". -- The Jakarta Post/Leony Aurora