TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsPertamina-retailers fuel deal sparks price, quality concerns
The Energy Ministry stated that the policy would be used only as a last resort, and only until the end of the year, if local fuel stocks of private retailers were critically low.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
An attendant fills up a motorcycle with gasoline at a gas station owned by state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina in Jakarta.
(JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
I
n an unexpected turn, private fuel giants Shell, BP-AKR and Vivo have agreed to buy base fuel from state-owned PT Pertamina to address stock shortages that have persisted since the end of last month.
While the ‘unprecedented partnership’ could reshape Indonesia’s fuel market, analysts are raising red flags over the fairness of the deal, from fuel quality standards to pricing transparency. They also urge the government to seize this moment to rebuild public trust in Pertamina and ensure a level playing field for all players.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Friday that the government would allow additional base fuel imports through Pertamina to resolve stock shortages faced by private retailers, who have also exhausted their import quotas.
The ministry said Pertamina Patra Niaga, Pertamina’s retail arm, still has around 7.52 million kiloliters of unused import quota, enough to supply private retailers until the end of the year.
“As a solution, we asked them to collaborate with Pertamina because Pertamina still has stock and import quotas,” Bahlil said during a press conference in Jakarta.
“They agreed, and indeed must agree, to collaborate. The condition is that it must be based on base fuel, meaning it is not blended.”
Base fuel is a pure, unblended product that serves as the foundation for fuel products. Private companies will process this base fuel in their own storage tanks, adding proprietary additives to meet their specific standards and brand characteristics.
