Total to start fuel distribution ops July

Total Oil Indonesia (TOI), a downstream unit of French energy giant Total SA, will start Indonesian fuel distribution business in July this year.

VP Supply, Logistics and Consumers Debut Kamajaya told Petromindo.Com on Monday that first shipment of high speed diesel (HSD) from Singapore to the company?s terminal in Merak, Banten province, will arrive July.

The company will initially eyeing industrial consumers in Greater Jakarta and West Java and then will move to build up to three retail gas stations in Jakarta this year, he said.

TOI had clinched fuel storage agreement with a PT. Dover Chemical, a unit of US chemical ICC Industries Inc. and fuel transportation deal with PT. Petrotrans Indonesia in April this year.

Debut said the company?s current fuel storage capacity was at 12,000 kiloliters.

Since the liberalization of downstream fuel market several years back, a number of companies including Royal Dutch/Shell, Petronas, AKR Corporindo have been competing with former monopolist Pertamina. (denny)