The amount of subsidy is a result of the economic price of premium gasoline, which is Rp8,400 a liter minus the selling price of Rp4,500 a liter, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said in a press statement released on Wednesday.
The economic price of Rp8,400 a liter originates from the base price of fuels from crude oil. With the ICP standing at US$105 a barrel the economic price reaches Rp5,943 a liter, plus the lifting, refinery and transportation (LRT) cost of natural oil that is US$24.1 a barrel or is equivalent to Rp1,394 a liter plus 15 percent tax.
The ministry denied a statement by economist Kwik Kian Gie that the LRT cost is only US$10 a barrel.
The LRT cost is US$24.1 a barrel consisting of US$12.8 a barrel from processing costs and US$11.3 a barrel from distribution costs, the ministry said.
Commenting on state oil and gas company PT Pertamina`s reason to buy crude oil at ICP price when the oil belongs to the entire nation, the ministry explained that the oil that serves as a portion of the state is 586 thousand barrels a day constituting revenues in the state budget.
Meanwhile, the domestic fuel oil consumption is projected to reach 1.4 million barrels per day, prompting the country to import 802 thousand barrels per day.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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