Fuel shortage hits many parts of Jakarta

Fuel shortage has hit many parts of Jakarta, Tangerang, Bogor, Depok and Bekasi since Wednesday due to the decline in the supply from state-owned oil company Pertamina, Kontan reported Saturday.

The daily said that many fuel stations in these areas have been closed due the lack of the supply for Premium subsidized gasoline, and high octane Pertamax. The fuel stations owners said that they had not received any supply for at least two days.

?We have not received any supply from Pertamina for the last two days,? said Muhammad Nur Adib, the chairman of the association of fuel stations owners.

Pertamina?s marketing director Ahmad Faisal said that the fuel shortage occurred due to the failure of the newly applied online order system. ?The computers had failed to detect the delivery orders filed by the fuel stations owners,? he said. ?But the system has begun to operate normally since Friday,? he added.

In addition to the failure of the online order system, the shortage of the fuel supply also occurred because fuel stations owners had delayed their delivery orders on fears that the government would further cut the price of Premium on Jan. 1, Pertamina spokesman Anang Rizkani Noor said.

But Faisal downplayed such a speculation. He said that there was no problem with Pertamina?s fuel stocks and he guaranteed that beginning today, the supply would return to normal. (*)