Pertamina told to import premium to solve fuel scarcity
Thursday, July 20 2000 - 03:00 AM WIB
Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed state oil firm Pertamina to quickly import premium at whatever prices in a bid to solve the weeklong fuel scarcity in East Java and Bali.
"I have instructed (Pertamina) to import fuels to cover this temporary needs. Don't think about loss and profit in this case. What's more important is that we can supply the people's needs on time," he told reporters before a Cabinet meeting.
Susilo Bambang said that fuel scarcity in East Java and Bali has been caused by the weeklong breakdown at Pertamina's Balongan refinery plant in Indramayu, West Java.
Besides, Susilo Bambang added that the fire that engulfed an oil refinery in Kuwait also affected fuel supplies in Java and Bali as fuel consumption for these areas has been met with supplies from Balongan and imports from Kuwait.
During an emergency like this, Susilo Bambang, Indonesia usually imports fuels from Singapore, however, this time, Singapore could not satisfy Indonesia's emergency needs as all of its fuels had been allocated for consumers in U.S. West Coast.
Meanwhile, Pertamina's marketing director Hary Purnomo warned that emergency imports like this was not an easy business because Pertamina must had first of all take part in international tenders. Its initial plan to import fuels from India, for instance, had been failed. Now, Hary said, pertamina was trying to import fuels from Malaysia (Petronas), China and Singapore.
He said fuel import commitment for July had only reached about 50 percent to 60 percent of total domestic needs, while fuel imports from Kuwait for July would reach 79,000 kilo liters.
He added that the fuel scarcity in East Java and Bali had especially caused by the break-down in Balongan refinery, and therefore, some fuel supplies originally allocated for these areas had been diverted to Jakarta.
He noted that Pertamina's fuel stocks currently were depleting. Its stocks of fuels were currently enough for 18 days, below the ideal level of 23 days.
He warned that fuel scarcity could hamper other parts of the country, especially Padang in West Sumatra. He noted that fuel needs in West Sumatra were supplied from Dumai. However, the supplies had been transported through land roads. Whenever there is a barrier in transportation, there could be fuel scarcity in Padang. (*)