Fuel shortage problem is over, says Pertamina

State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina said that it has significantly increased fuel supply to cope with shortage which hit many parts of Jakarta, Tangerang, Bogor, Depok and many other cities in Java last week.

Pertamina?s president director Ari Soemarno said in Jakarta on Sunday that Pertamina had particularly increased the supply of Premium gasoline and diesel to ensure the existing fuel stations have more than enough of the fuel to cope with demand.

?Our stock is enough for 15 days, and the fuel shortage occurred only in certain fuel stations because many fuel stations owners reduced their orders on fears that the government would cut fuel prices,? he said.

In some areas, the fuel shortage took place because there was a delay in the supply from Pertamina due to technical problem in the payment system, he said, adding that the new online purchasing system which was introduced only on Jan. 2 had confused many stations owners, and at the same time, the computers at Pertamina also failed to detect the delivery orders filed by station owners.

Pertamina?s spokesman Anang Rikzani Noor said that Pertamina supplied about 19,000 kiloliters of fuel on Sunday morning for Jakarta, Bekasi, Depok, Tangerang and Bogor areas. The supply was higher than the daily needs in the areas which usually reached only about 11,000 kiloliters. (*)