Pertamina anticipates fuel rush

State oil and gas company Pertamina said on Thursday it had stockpiled enough fuel to anticipate a sudden surge in demand ahead of a fuel price increase on Sunday.

"Our fuel stock is enough for 23 days of national consumption. We don't expect the public to panic and rush to buy fuel prior to the implementation of the fuel price increase. Anyway, we are ready to handle any possible rush on fuel," Pertamina spokesman Ramli Djaafar told The Jakarta Post.

According to Ramli, Pertamina employees across the country were prepared to monitor fuel demand around the clock, and take quick action to increase supplies in cases of sudden surges in demand.

"Thus far, as far as fuel supply is concerned, the situation is calm across the country. We haven't seen any sudden surges in fuel demand," Ramli said.

Ramli also denied reports that fishing companies in Maluku and Irian Jaya were suffering from a fuel crisis, insisting that fuel supplies in both provinces were sufficient.

The Association of Indonesian Fishing Companies (Gappindo) said earlier a number of fishing firms were unable to operate at full capacity over the past two months due to a shortage of fuel.

Gappindo said many owners of fishing boats and fish processing plants in both regions had to line up at Pertamina's fuel depot for hours, and ended up receiving only 30 percent of the fuel they required.

The association warned that numerous fishing companies, which play an important role in the two regions' economies, would go under if the situation was not addressed and the government went ahead with its plan to raise fuel prices on Sunday.

Ramli, however, insisted Pertamina's fuel supplies to both regions were sufficient. But he noted that Pertamina refused to increase fuel supply to both regions for fear that the fuels would be smuggled out of the country. (*)