Govt to issue regulation to create uniform gas price

The government will issue a presidential regulation to control natural gas market with the purpose of creating uniform prices for the fuel across the country, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas said in a statement on Tuesday.

Today, natural gas prices are varied with some areas of the country paying lower prices than the others, thus creating a sense of injustice among the people. The regulation aims to rectify the situation by creating justice for all, Director General of Oil and Gas IGN Wiratmaja said in a statement.

?In each area of Indonesia, gas prices are varied. The challenge and homework for us is thus, How to manage the gas market in a good and fair way, how to manage the prices,? he said during the Petrogas Days Energizing Indonesia Forum 2016 in Jakarta on Monday.

?The gas prices in Java for instance are starkly different from those in Sumatra,? he added.

He said the government was getting inputs from universities such as Yogyakarta?s University of Gajahmada for the drafting of the regulation.

Under the regulation, all gas, either produced locally or imported, will be managed by a buffer agency which create uniform prices. The agency won?t manage the gas market physically but virtually instead, he said.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon