Pertamina offers price discounts for its non-subsidized diesel

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina plans to sell non-subsidized diesel oil at discounted prices to cope with the sharp decline in the demand from industrial buyers, Koran Tempo reported on Tuesday.

Besides offering price discounts, Pertamina would also give a longer contract terms in order to reduce an excess in the company?s diesel oil stocks, the company?s marketing and commercial director Ahmad Faisal said.

In addition, he said Pertamina would also offer the diesel oil to other distributors of non-subsidized fuels including Shell, Petronas, PT Petro Andalan Nusantara and PT AKR Corporindo Tbk after it dropped its plan to export the fuel in the first quarter of this year .

Faisal said that the diesel oil sales had dropped by about 30 percent to 50,000 barrels per day from 70,000 barrels per day due to the decline in the demand from the country?s industries. The low demand had resulted in the increase in the stock to the equivalent of a 40-day supply from the average of a 25-day supply in normal days, he added. (*)