Govt finally agrees to provide subsidy for LPG sales

The government has finally agreed to provide subsidy for the distribution of the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to be sold to households as part of the government's program to reduce the sales of the highly subsidized kerosene.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in Jakarta Saturday that the subsidy for the LPG sales would be taken from the kerosene subsidy which had been already allocated in the state budget.

He said that the decision to provide the subsidy for the LPG sales was contained in his letter recently sent to the ministry's directorate general of oil and gas, and state owned oil and gas company Pertamina.

Pertamina's president director Ari Soemarno said early last week that without the subsidy it would be difficult for Pertamina to carry out the program to convert the highly subsidized kerosene because the current price of LPG was still far below its economic price. (godang)