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Government tells fuel producers to lower retail price
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Oil and Gas Director General Djoko Siswanto. (Courtesy of/The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry)
F
ollowing the slump in the global crude oil price to US$60 per barrel, the government has urged fuel producers to adjust their fuel prices as soon as possible.
Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Oil and Gas Director General Djoko Siswanto told the press recently that six oil producers and distributors had expressed their readiness to lower the retail prices of their products sold at fuel stations.
"I have called Pertamina, AKR, Shell, Total, Vivo and Garuda Mas. All of them are committed to lowering fuel prices, sometime next week or no later than January," he said.
State-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina said that it could not immediately lower the retail prices of its non-subsidized products because the company had to empty its tanks of fuel purchased when the crude oil price was still high.
"Therefore, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry give us until January next year," said Pertamina spokesman Adiatma Sardjito, adding that Pertamina would lower the fuel prices in January.
The non-subsidized fuels sold by the company include the Pertamax series with a research octane number above 90, Pertamax Turbo and Pertamina Dex.
Oil prices have slumped by more than 25 percent since climbing to above $80 per barrel in early October. Benchmark Brent crude was trading at $59.71 a barrel on Wednesday, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $51.16. (bbn)
