Tainted gasoline creates concern
Tainted gasoline creates concern
JAKARTA (JP): The chief of the Jakarta chapter of the National Association of Oil and Gas Businessmen, A.S. Siregar, has asked police to crack down on places selling adulterated gasoline.
"We are hoping that the authorities can eliminate the selling of adulterated gasoline to break the link of either the production or the distribution of it," Siregar said.
Antara news agency reported on Thursday that the dilution of gasoline with kerosene probably happened shortly after the fuel truck left the depot of the state-owned oil company Pertamina at Plumpang, North Jakarta.
"Some people have managed to bribe the fuel truck drivers into drawing off some of the fuel. Then those people blend it with kerosene," Siregar said.
Regardless of the strict action taken by Pertamina to punish such drivers, there are still some drivers who are tempted to adulterate the gasoline in order to make some additional money.
Siregar swore that none of the members of his association were involved in the sale of adulterated gasoline.
Siregar also said that sharp difference is prices between diesel fuel and regular gasoline makes illegal blending more rampant.
In October, the city police arrested a married couple for alleged involvement in the distribution of adulterated diesel oil.
The couple were suspected to have drawn off 2,000 liters of diesel fuel from a tanker truck carrying 8,000 liters of diesel fuel. They then replaced the diesel fuel with lubricating oil and kerosene.
Last year, a joint team of Pertamina and some powerful watchdog government agencies made on-site inspections to monitor the quality of fuel and lubricating oil sold at local outlets.
Illegal processing and marketing of used lubricants has seriously affected the legal producers, including Pertamina.
Lubricant output in Indonesia dropped from 340,785 tons in 1987 to 261,281 tons in 1988. After a massive police raid in 1989, the state-owned oil company recorded a slight increase to 289,630 tons. (mas)