Stocks depleting, RI pursues more fuel import, to build new refinery
Thursday, July 27 2000 - 04:30 AM WIB
Government is forced to pursue a government-to-government (G-to-G) approach to import more fuels to secure domestic fuel stocks following prolong fuel scarcity in a number of areas, including Jakarta.
Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday that the government had got fuel supply commitment from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand - all members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"With the ASEAN spirit, we get a commitment of 50,000 barrels of premium from Malaysia that would be sent here at the end of this month," the minister said after attending a Cabinet meeting.
He added that the government was sounding out possibility to get an additional of 300,000 barrels of premium from Malaysia.
"Besides, the government has also got a commitment from Thailand, totaling 600,000 barrels of premium, 300,000 barrels of diesel oil and 200,000 kerosene," he said.
Susilo Bambang said that the current fuel scarcity problem was a result of an obsolete system inherited from the New Order administration. There were three factors contributing to the current fuel scarcity problem, namely lacking of oil refinery, lacking of fuel stocks and out-of-date piping system.
He said Indonesia must build new refinery plants, increase its fuel stocks from the level enough for 23 days to at least 25 days, and improve the piping system.
He also blamed state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina for not anticipating well the reduction of domestic fuel supplies following the shutdown of the Balongan refinery plant. He also said that Pertamina was not responsive in handling fuel scarcity problems.
Meanwhile, Pertamina president Baihaki Hakim said that to prevent future fuel scarcity, Pertamina planned to build a new refinery plant in Balongan with a total investment of $700 million.
He said Pertamina chose Balongan because it had all infrastructure needed by an oil refinery, including a deep port that could accommodate large tankers.
For a short-term purpose, Baihaki said, Pertamina would import 600,000 barrels of fuel to secure fuel supplies in August.
Meanwhile, the director of domestic fuel supplies at Pertamina, Harry Purnomo, said that fuel scarcity in Jakarta would be over starting on Thursday following the normal supplies of fuels from the Balongan refinery. (*)