Fuel Crisis to Hit Java, Sumatera

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Several areas in Sumatra and Java are threatened by subsidized fuel crisis. According to state oil company Pertamina, both islands will run out of subsidized diesel (Solar) and gasoline (Premium) by November and December this year.

"We can be certain that the fuel quota will not suffice until year-end," Suhartoko, Pertamina senior VP for fuel marketing and distribution, told Tempo last Friday.

According to Pertamina's data, areas in Sumatera such as Aceh, Riau, Jambi, North Sumatra, and Bangka-Belitung will run out on Solar quota by November. Meanwhile, West Java, East Java, Banten, and Jakarta are expected to be out of Premium in December.

This year's fuel quota allocation was set at 48 million kiloliters. However, the House of Representatives (DPR) reduced the quota to 46 million kiloliters in the 2014 State Budget Amendment.

Suhartoko said with the DPR locking the fuel quota, the government has only two options: issue a regulation in lieu of the presidential regulation (Perpu) to increase the subsidy allocation, or file for a second budget amendment to the DPR.

Montty Giriana, deputy for energy and mineral resources at the Ministry of Economic Coordinator, confirmed that subsidized fuel quota will run out prematurely. Therefore, anticipative measures must be taken to prevent crisis that could "potentially create chaos."

Montty said the need for subsidized fuel in Sumatra and Java is the highest nationwide. In Sumatra, diesel fuel consumption continues to rise with the high demand from CPO transport activities. As for Java, the need for gasoline is immensely high due to the increasing number of private vehicles. 

ANGGA SUKMA WIJAYA | KHAIRUL ANAM | HUSSEIN ABRI YUSUF