TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The executive director of Reforminer Institute Komaidi Notonegoro said that the government needs to fast-track the construction of Pertamina`s refineries to prevent fuel imports volume from increasing.
Today, Indonesia's average fuel consumption volume is 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), and the refineries' production capacity is around 600,000 bpd.
As a result, Komaidi said, Pertamina must pay US$47.2 million per day to import up to 900,000 bpd of fuel.
The import volume is expected to continue to grow, given how the national fuel consumption rises by about nine percent every year.
Komaidi asked the government to disburse funds directly to the construction of refineries through the state treasury. Another solution is to provide guarantees the Pertamina's loans, a scheme that is applied to state power company PLN.
Pertamina can actually increase its fuel production by 100,000 bpd starting in 2019 by increasing the capacity of the Balikpapan refinery in East Kalimantan. But the plan is threatened to be delayed after Pertamina president director Elia Massa Manik revised the Balikpapan refinery's operating schedule, pushing it to 2020.
ROBBY IRFANY
