April 9, 2024
JAKARTA – Pertamina Patra Niaga, the commercial arm of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, said that it saw a significant increase in fuel consumption ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday and the mudik (exodus) tradition that accompanies it.
Pertamina’s Pertamax Turbo unsubsidized gasoline with a research octane number of 98 saw the highest jump to 938 kiloliters (kl) per day, a 90.7 percent increase from a normal sales figure of 492 kl per day, as of Apr. 4.
Unsubsidized RON 92 gasoline also saw an increase of 24.8 percent to 15,890 kl per day in the same period.
Meanwhile, Pertamina Dex, an unsubsidized diesel fuel with cetane number (CN) of 53, and CN-51 Dexlite, saw 33.1 percent and 29.8 percent increases, respectively.
“The average daily fuel realization compared to normal sales […] has increased. Travelers are advised to ensure that fuel conditions are sufficient to anticipate queues on the journey,” Pertamina Patra Niaga president director Riva Siahaan said in a statement issued on Sunday.
The company’s subsidized RON-90 gasoline Pertalite saw an 11 percent increase in consumption to 90,043 kl per day in the same period, while its subsidized diesel fuel saw a 9.3 percent rise to 47,683 kl per day.
Liquified petroleum gas (LPG), which is the country’s main cooking fuel, saw consumption increase by 4.4 percent to 29,733 tonnes per day during the same period.
The festive period came as the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP) rose 4.6 percent month-to-month (mtm) to US$83.78 per barrel in March, following several disruptions to oil supplies in Asia, including the prolonged geopolitical conflict in Ukraine and the Red Sea as well as production cuts by exporting countries.
The price has passed the government’s macroeconomic estimate stipulated in the state budget set at $80 per barrel this year.
Indonesia has been a net oil importer for decades, meaning the country needs shipments from overseas to meet its domestic demand, which has also made it prone to international oil price hikes.
Pertamina Patra Niaga’s corporate secretary Irto Ginting said that the company has prepared 1,792 gas stations to be open for 24 hours per day with dozens of additional standby kiosks to anticipate a surge in demand as people travel to their hometowns.
“Gas stations in [important] areas such as toll roads, tourist routes and logistics routes are on standby for 24 hours,” he said in a statement issued on Sunday.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif said the government is anticipating the possibility of an increase in spending on subsidies and compensation for fuel oil amid the current rebound in crude oil prices.
He added that the ministry would continue ensuring the availability of fuel in the country amid the hikes.
“We have to anticipate an increase in subsidies and compensation, yes, we have to anticipate it, but the first thing is to have enough [fuel],” Arifin said in Jakarta on Friday.