Pertamina May Incur Losses from Premium Sales as Crude Price Hike
27 December 2017 12:38 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Reforminer Institute's executive director Komaidi Notonegoro asks the government to review the policy of limiting the public service obligation (PSO) prices, especially for the subsidized Premium gasoline.
Increasing crude prices globally has caused Pertamina's sales price to fall below profiting levels. If prices are not revised, Komaidi estimates Pertamina's Premium sales deficit will reach Rp1,000 per liter, thus incurring the company a total loss of Rp5.49 trillion.
"Business cannot go on like this, we have to accustom it according to corporate rules," he said.
Pertamina is still selling Premium gasoline or Rp6,450 a liter in areas outside Java, Madura, and Bali—a price that has not changed since 2016 when global crude prices were around US$45 a barrel.
As per December 22, Brent prices had hit US$65.04 per barrel.
The economical price of the low-octane gasoline is estimated at Rp7,250 per liter, and in the eastern part of Indonesia the production cost even reached Rp8,250 per liter.
Previously, Pertamina's president director Masia Manik said that the government's policy to limit Premium prices had caused the company's Q3 net profit to plunge from US$3.05 billion to US$1.09 billion.
ROBBY IRFANY