"In Java, Madura, Bali (Jamali), there are 1,926 gas stations which today are not selling premium. We will fill the 600 SPBUs with premium. The remaining ones will be put into operation in stages," said Widyawati.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The lower quality Research Octane Number 88 (R0N-88) Premium gasoline will come back to gasoline refueling stations (SPBU) in Jakarta and other regions in Java, Madura and Bali (Jamali).

According to Acting President Director of state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, a total of 1,926 SPBUs will serve consumers in Jamali again after stopping selling premium for a few years.

The government, through Presidential Regulation No. 191 Year of 2014, has regulated that the subsidized or Public Service Obligation Premium gasoline is only sold in regions outside Jamali. Premium sold in Jamali is no longer subsidized.

Since then, Premium has disappeared in many SPBUs in Jamali. At the same time state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina introduced to consumers its relatively better quality gasoline, the RON-90 Pertalite.

The basic idea of restricting the sale of subsidized Premium in Jamali is to encourage the financially capable consumers to migrate to non-subsidized fuels, which relatively has better quality such as Pertalite, Pertamax, and Pertamax Turbo.

However, the government has decided to bring back Premium to refueling stations in Jamali. After all, it has been successful in encouraging consumers to migrate to Pertalite and other higher quality fuels.

Data available at the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulator (BPH Migas) indicated that the consumption of premium gasoline (non-subsidized) had dropped by almost 50 percent in Java, Madura, and Bali.

Now the government has asked Pertamina to refill its SPBUs (which has stopped selling Premium) with Premium to serve the public. The government will continue to guarantee the availability of Premium. It will enhance the distribution of the relatively low octane fuel type to the Jamali region.

The government will soon work out new regulations as a legal umbrella for the implementation of the new plan. "We are revising Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 191 of 2014. The Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) minister, Finance Minister, and state-owned enterprises Minister will sign an agreement on that effect," BPH Migas Head Fansurullah Asa remarked on Thursday.

If the regulation is completed, BPH Migas will immediately coordinate with Pertamina to discuss the amount of subsidized premium quota. Asa noted that existing data of 2017 will be used as a benchmark by observing economic growth indicators, the number of vehicles, and the potential migration of consumption from Pertalite to Premium.

Asa believes that the new regulation will be issued as a form of government support to meet the public`s need for premium fuel. "This is a matter of justice for the small community," he remarked.

According to the plan, the government will increase the volume of premium quota by five million kl from the previous set at 7.5 million kl, so the total is 12.5 million kl. The amount will cover the requirement for premium in the Jamali regions.

Moreover, according to the ESDM Ministry, the consumption of low-quality fuel by the public has been declining.

The decline is the result of a shift in the public`s consumption from low-quality Premium gasoline to the relatively better quality Pertalite gasoline.

In the first quarter of 2018, the amount of Premium consumed by the public in the Jamali areas stood at 1.037 million kiloliters (kl). In the same period last year, the consumption of premium reached over 2.0 million kl.

The same conditions were also witnessed in the region outside Jamali. In the first quarter of 2018, consumers only needed some 1.9 million kl, or down by 29 percent as compared to 2.6 million kl in the previous period.

BPH Migas Head Fansurullah Asa had forecast that until April 2018, the consumption of premium in the non-Jamali region will decline further. "We forecast a decline by 15 percent," Asa noted.

"State-owned oil company Pertamina has a commitment to provide premium gasoline to rightful consumers (needy consumers). We laud the efforts of Pertamina to carry out what is expected by the government," Asa remarked.

In accordance with the planned revision of Presidential Decree 191 on Supply, Distribution and Retail Price of Fuels (BBM), PT Pertamina is required to return to selling premium in Java, Madura, and Bali.

Head of BPH Migas Fanshurullah Asa said Pertamina has agreed to follow the regulation. "In Jamali, there will also be the sale of Ron 88 gasoline," Asa was quoted tribunnews.com as saying in Jakarta on Thursday.

Pertamina Acting President Director Nicke Widyawati said based on Pertamina data, there are 1,926 gas stations that have stopped selling premium but will soon sell it again.

Some 600 out of the 1,926 gas stations will be quicker in reselling premium because they have more than one storage tanks that can be used to store premium.

"In Java, Madura, Bali (Jamali), there are 1,926 gas stations which today are not selling premium. We will fill the 600 SPBUs with premium. The remaining ones will be put into operation in stages," said Widyawati.

(A014/H-YH)
(T.A014/A/KR-BSR/A/H-YH)

Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018