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Official confirms subsidized fuel shortage
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A motorist fills non-subsidized Pertamax gasoline into the tank of his motorcycle at a gas station in Jakarta. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
D
eputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arcandra Tahar said in Jakarta on Monday that there was a shortage of subsidized Premium-brand gasoline in gas stations in many parts of the country, including those in Sabang, Aceh and in Merauke, Papua.
“We realize the Premium scarcity. There is a shortage in supply from Pertamina,” Arcandra said at the ministry, adding that the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas) had valid data on the shortage.
Arcandra, however, refused to comment further on the cause of the shortage, saying that Pertamina would explain the technical details.
“But we and BPH Migas confirm the shortage in a number of regions,” he said, adding that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had instructed Pertamina to maintain an adequate supply of non-subsidized fuels in all parts of the country.
BPH Migas had previously reported the Premium scarcity in Pekanbaru, Riau. Further investigation showed that the shortage had also occurred in other regions, including those in Java, Madura and Bali.
BPH Migas committee member Hendri Achmad said previously there were two reasons for the Premium scarcity.
Pertamina had initially intended on reducing the supply to certain regions because the company wanted to maintain the existing Premium quota to the end of 2018.
Gas stations intentionally reduced the stock of Premium as they preferred to sell non-subsidized gasoline -- Pertalite and Pertamax – because they received a smaller margin from selling Premium. (bbn)
