Pertamina claims LPG conversion program successful

State oil and gas firm PT Pertamina claims kerosene-to-liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) conversion program a success as it allowed the government to cut fuel subsidy by more than US$1 billion.

The firm said it had so far distributed 40 million LPG package (a 3-kg canister plus a modest gas stove) to the public for free since it started in May 2007. The use of LPG rather than kerosene enabled the government to cut fuel subsidy by more than Rp 10 trillion (US$=Rp 9,350).

?The program has benefited the country by saving Rp 10.7 trillion out of the Rp 19.98 trillion allocated to subsidize fuels since it started,? Pertamina?s Deputy Director of Marketing Hanung Budya said on Monday in a ceremony to mark the distribution of the 40 millionth LPG package.

He said that Pertamina has no longer supplied kerosene in Jakarta since May last year.

?About 97 percent of people in West Java now use LPG, while 84 percent and 97 percent residents in East Java and Bali respectively have converted from kerosene to LPG,? Hanung said.

?We expect the program to be fully implemented by people in Java and Bali by the end of this year or in January or February next year," Hanung said, adding that so far the program has reached 13 provinces across the country.

In May 2007, the government distributed 4 million LPG conversion packages. In 2008, another 15 million were distributed and then 21 million packages were distributed in the first six months of 2009.

?This year, we are targeting to reach 23 million families in the kerosene-to-LPG program,? Hanung said. (*)