Shortage of gasoline hits Indonesia Source: Kyodo News Service/Associated Press Publication date: 2000-07-19

JAKARTA, July 19 (Kyodo) -- A shortage of gasoline has hit East Java and Bali since Sunday and will likely spread across Indonesia, including Jakarta, following a leakage from the Balongan oil refinery in the West Java provincial town Indramayu, government officials said Wednesday. The gasoline shortage has reportedly already disrupted urban transportation in Surabaya and its surrounding areas and long queues of hundreds of vehicles were reported in Bali.

"The stock of premium gasoline is very low, only enough for 18 days," Harry Purnomo, marketing director of the state oil company Pertamina, told reporters at the Bina Graha presidential office.

There are three kinds of gasoline sold in Indonesia -- premium, Premix and nonleaded Super TT. Premium is the cheapest, Super TT the most expensive.

Harry, however, called on vehicle owners not to rush to gasoline stations at least until July 26 when the leakage at the oil refinery is expected to be rectified.

Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that to meet demand the government has been trying to import premium from Singapore, but found difficulties as supply from Singapore has been used to meet demand in the United States.

The only solution, according to Yudhoyono, is to share supplies from oil refineries in Central Java and East Kalimantan that are usually only for the eastern and central parts of Indonesia.

Earlier, in an interview, Toto Suparto, head of Pertamina's domestic and foreign relations department, said it is possible the shortage will spread across Java within a few days.

Harry said Indonesia is now trying to approach oil refineries in Malaysia and China to find imports.

He added illegal hoarding is unlikely because Pertamina has been monitoring the market very carefully.

The state-run news agency Antara reported many gasoline stations in East Java and Bali have limited sales to only 10 liters per vehicle and The Jakarta Post reported a large number of minivans in the East Java town Malang had to wait three hours to buy only 10 liters of gasoline each.

Because of the delays, many public transport vehicles failed to operate, stranding passengers.

The $2 billion Balongan oil refinery, which was built between 1990 and 1995 by a consortium of contractors led by Foster Wheeler of Britain, has a processing capacity of 125,000 barrels per day and 94% of its production goes to Java.

Although it was inaugurated only in 1995, over the past three years the refinery has had nine leakages that stopped production for a total of 265 days and caused $35 million in losses.

Copyright 2000 by Kyodo News Service

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 20, 2000