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tate-owned energy firm PT Pertamina has imported 1.2 million barrels of fuel in efforts to meet the surge in consumption of fuel during the Idul Fitri holidays later this month, when millions of people will visit their home towns to celebrate the end of the fasting month.

Pertamina business and marketing director Hanung Budya Yuktyanta said that the total amount of the imported fuel would be enough for 17 days of consumption before and after the Idul Fitri holidays.

He said that fuel consumption was projected to increase 3.3 percent during the holidays, which will take place from mid August to early September.

“The increase of imported fuel is more than enough to ensure fuel supplies when there is an increase in demand during Lebaran,” he said during a breaking-the-fast gathering at the Kempinski Hotel in
Jakarta on Wednesday.

He said the imported fuel consists of 740,000 barrels of subsidized Premium fuel, 200,000 barrels of biodiesel fuel and 80,000 barrels of aviation fuel (avtur).

Hanung said that Pertamina bought the additional fuel from the spot market through its subsidiary - Pertamina Energy Trading Limited (Petral).

Hanung said the company would import another 600,000 barrels of premium fuel this month just to be sure that the current supply would be sufficient.

In its effort in anticipating and meeting the surge of fuel consumption during the Idul Fitri holidays, Pertamina also plans to open 63 mobile fuel filling stations in order to tackle distribution problems.

Pertamina spokesman Ali Mundakir said that the company also switches the function of 45 filling stations in a number of locations to sell Premium rather than diesel fuel and non-subsidized Pertamax fuel.

He said the consumption of Premium fuel increased sharply during the Idul Fitri holidays, while the consumption of diesel fuel dropped more than 12 percent because industrial factories - primary diesel users - usually closed down during Idul Fitri.