Govt ensures fuel supply for annual exodus
Rangga D. Fadillah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 08/23/2011 7:00 AM
The government has offered further assurance that there will not be any energy shortages during the annual Idul Fitri exodus this year.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh said that state oil and gas company PT Pertamina had increased its fuel stock, particularly subsidized Premium gasoline, to anticipate increasing demand during the holiday period.
“Fuel demand usually increases by around 20 percent during the exodus within busy routes [in Java]. We also improve our supervision of the availability of stock through coordinating meetings held twice a week,” he told reporters on the sidelines of his visit to Pertamina’s depot in Cikampek, West Java, on Monday.
Pertamina and the government had agreed to maintain the Premium fuel stock for 15 days before and after Idul Fitri at 1.28 million kiloliters, or equal to 18 days consumption, he reported.
The government and all related institutions had also prepared several strategies to avoid fuel shortages during the period, Darwin said.
The strategies are providing fuel “pockets” in several congested routes by preparing mobile tanks to anticipate disturbances in the distribution system, including temporarily converting diesel fuel tanks to store Premium and creating special transit fuel stations for motorcycles.
“We’ll prioritize trucks carrying fuel tanks to pass through exodus routes with motorized escort,” he said. The government estimated that the number of home-bound travelers during this year’s Idul Fitri exodus would reach 15.47 million.
The number of travelers by car is expected to reach 1.63 million in 2011, up 6.08 percent from 1.54 million in 2010. The number of people travelling by motorcycle is expected to increase to 2.47 million, up 7.42 percent from 2.3 million last year. According to the ministry’s data, as of Aug. 21, the national fuel stock reached 20.91 days of consumption while for household liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was 172.66 million metric tons. Assuming that the consumption of LPG is 14.11 tons per day, the current stock is sufficient for 12.23 days.
