Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In response to month-long kerosene shortages in several cities, state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina began delivering additional supplies Wednesday.
The move comes a day after Vice President Jusuf Kalla called on Pertamina to increase kerosene supplies by 100,000 kiloliters through December to ease shortages that have caused panic buying.
Company spokesman Toharso said Pertamina has begun delivering additional kerosene to Jakarta.
""We will pour an extra supply of 1,140 kiloliters a day (into Jakarta) during market operations through Friday. We hope the fuel shortage problems will be resolved in the next two to three days,"" Toharso said.
He said normal kerosene use in Jakarta averaged 4,680 kiloliters per day.
""Therefore, with the extra supply, there will no longer be any shortages in the city. And we can expect an end to panic buying by residents.
""We will deliver the additional supply to kerosene pools across the city,"" Toharso said.
In addition to the industrial sector, kerosene is widely used for cooking in middle-class and poor households.
Cities, including the capital Jakarta, began seeing kerosene shortages earlier this month. The shortages peaked this week, resulting in long lines of people waiting for the opportunity to purchase the fuel.
""There are currently 1,360 kerosene pools in Jakarta and we have data on which pools are experiencing supply shortages,"" Toharso said.
Pertamina also will increase supplies to Jakarta's neighboring cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.
""We will supply an additional stock of 1,595 kiloliters to these cities Thursday and 1,720 on Friday,"" he said.
Antara reported Wednesday that some areas in Jakarta, including Kramat Raya and Tanah Abang, were still experiencing shortages despite the additional supply from Pertamina.
And as of Wednesday the price of kerosene was still between Rp 3,500 and Rp 4,000 per liter, far higher than the maximum retail price set by the government of Rp 2,275 (24 U.S. cents) a liter.
The government has budgeted Rp 40 trillion in 2006 to subsidize the price of 9.9 million kiloliters of kerosene for household use. Industrial buyers are required to pay Rp 6,000 per liter of the fuel.
Critics have said the large price gap between kerosene for household and industrial use is to blame for the frequent shortages in the country.
A member of the House of Representatives' mining commission, Tjatur Sapto Edy, said boosting supply was only a short-term remedy for supply problems.
""It is a temporary solution. It will not resolve the fuel scarcity problems,"" he said.
Tjatur asked the government to establish new mechanisms for kerosene distribution.
Pertamina president director Ari Sumarno has acknowledged the company cannot control the distribution of subsidized kerosene, which is often sold freely in markets.
