Fuel crisis due to delays in delivery

Dicky Christanto and Irawaty Wardany ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Mon, 04/07/2008 11:17 AM  |  Bali

Officials from Pertamina have said the fuel crisis that has disrupted Bali's for almost a week was caused mainly by a delay in deliveries following ongoing renovations at Manggis, the island's largest gas depot.

The depot's main pier was struck by an oil tanker last year and has since been in need of renovation, according to officials.

Chairman of the Institute of Bali Development Empowerment Study Dasi Astawa, however, didn't buy the explanation, arguing any major renovation on the facility was supposed to involve a contingency plan to ensure the stability of supply to the island.

"Pertamina should make all the necessary arrangements to ensure the renovation doesn't disrupt supply. I believe they're just making excuses to cover up their poor planning," he stressed.

Manggis depot area manager Mohammad Irfan argued Pertamina had anticipated problems and taken the necessary precautions. During renovations, he said, they were using Pertamina East Java chapter port in Surabaya and Tanjung Wangi commercial port in Banyuwangi, East Java.

"But the distribution process has slowed as we have a smaller loading capacity on the Banyuwangi port. The problem in Tanjung Wangi is we have to queue because the port's authority there prioritizes ships carrying food supply and household needs," he told a press conference.

According to Irfan, an oil tanker carrying 2,500 kiloliters of kerosene from Surabaya had arrived in Bali on Saturday. The supply would increase the island's stock of 4,500 kiloliters currently stored in Pertamina's secondary depot in Sanggaran, Denpasar. He added another tanker holding 4,000 kiloliters from Balikpapan was expected to arrive Sunday.

"We keep expecting more oil tankers to come to meet our gas needs on the island. I hope it will calm people down. By my calculations, this oil problem will be resolved in two to three days' time, so we don't have to worry," he said.

As many as 1700 kiloliters of oil are being delivered to 140 gas stations throughout Bali on a daily basis. However, due to the current gas crisis, Pertamina intends to increase the oil supply to around 2000 kiloliters per day.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.