Govt to lower Pertamina's fuel sale fee to 8.36 percent

State owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina will get a a lower margin and cost reimbursement for the distribution of subsidized fuel next year, a senior governmental official said.

Director General Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Evita Legowo said the government had proposed the margin and cost reimbursement, locally called "alpha", at 8.36 percent for next year, down from 9 percent this year.

Pertamina has agreed with the proposal, Evita said during a hearing with the House of Representatives? Commission VII in Jakarta Thursday.

However, the House Commission VII head Airlangga Hartarto said that the House had yet to decide whether to agree on the proposal as it had yet to finish a "detailed calculation".

President Director of Pertamina Ari Soemarno expressed in several occasions earlier his objection to any plan to lower the alpha rate below 9 percent. The alpha rate was 13.5 percent last year, he said. (godang)