Pertamina: Premium queue due to panic buying

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BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: Senior Retail Sales Executive PT Pertamina Kalimantan Dambha Herviyanato revealed “panic buying” that caused long lines at gas stations in Banjarmasin in recent days, Antaranews reported.

At a meeting with the national energy council in South Kalimantan Provincial Hall on Thursday, Dambha stated quota of fuel here is sufficient, so that at first fuel line did not happen. However, due to the media coverage about the long lines in Java and other provinces, triggering residents lined up at gas stations.

“People seemed to be provoked by the news about fuel line in the other areas are quite intense,” he said.

Facing this, Pertamina has been asked to normalize distribution, so that long lines does not happen again.

While the provincial government has issued a decree to restrict the purchase of subsidized premium and diesel fuel at the pump, but “panic buying” make these efforts do not have a big impact.

Dambha sures, subsidized premium stock is still enough. People do not need to be panic buying excessively, because it will hurt the people themselves.

Head of South Kalimantan Mines and Energy Agency Kustono Widodo said, based on data and calculations with PT Pertamina in 2014, premium quota here is 663,320 kiloliters. Of these, daily distribution realized 1,817 kiloliters. Realization from 1 January to August 3 is 340,776 kiloliter. Premium quota until August 3 still 390,723 kiloliters.

While quota of diesel fuel a year 256,427 liters, the realization per day 702 kiloliters, while the realization from 1 January to August 3, or 215 days has reached 181,975. The quota until August 3 is 151,046 kiloliters.

“If for quota premium we are still relatively sufficient, whereas for diesel is still lacking. So, it needs to be fought for additional quota,” he said.

A member of the National Energy Board Sonny Keraf said it would restructure the national energy condition, so that long lines do not continue to occur.

According to him, the government needs to reduce the price disparity between subsidized and non-subsidized fuel, so that manipulation efforts to subsidized fuel can be suppressed.

In addition, the government will also encourage, continue the growth of renewable energy, such as bio-diesel and other fossil energy and to replace oil.