Member Of House of Representatives Commission VII Suggests Government Determine Pertalite As Assignment Fuel

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Member of Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VII, Mulyanto proposed the government assign Pertalite as fuel oil (BBM) in the assignment. He admits that currently the official BBM in the assignment is Premium.

"But the fact is that this type of fuel is not available in the market. As a result, the only fuel (gasoline) available at affordable prices for the general public is Pertalite", he said in a statement, Friday, March 11.

According to him, the determination of Pertalite as BBM in this assignment is important, so that the state is present to guarantee the availability of BBM (gasoline) at an affordable price for the wider community, not leaving one hundred percent to the market mechanism.

"To ensure the availability of BBM (gasoline) that is affordable for the wider community, as well as a substitute for premium which is rarely available, I propose the government to assign Pertalite as BBM in the assignment. This means that the government has assigned Pertamina to provide Pertalite with a certain volume and price to be distributed throughout the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. This needs to be done to respond to the surge in world oil and gas prices which suppresses domestic oil and gas prices", Mulyanto explained.

With this stipulation, on the one hand, the public is not haunted by worries about the increase in Pertalite prices following the increase in world oil and gas prices triggered by the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

On the other hand, Pertamina will also be calm, because with Pertalite's status as BBM on assignment, it means that there is a Government guarantee for compensation for the difference between Pertalite's economic price and the current selling price.

Mulyanto added that Presidential Decree No. 117 of 2021 concerning the Supply, Distribution and Retail Selling Price of BBM dated December 31, 2021, which will compensate 50 percent of the new types of fuel, namely pertalite and premium oplosan, has yet to be implemented.

"So for convenience, the Government simply stipulates this Pertalite as fuel for assignment with a fixed price. It will then be distributed throughout the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. Thankfully, it can come back down later, when things are back to normal. This is a simpler and more implementable option", he added.

He added that this was very possible, considering that the increase in world oil and gas prices was also followed by soaring commodity prices of coal, CPO, copper and nickel. Appropriate government policies will increase state revenues from the export of this commodity.

"Especially if the government immediately sets a policy of imposing/increasing export tariffs or increasing royalties progressively in accordance with international price increases", he added.

To note, our coal exports continue to increase both in volume and revenue. In 2020 as many as 342 million tons with revenues of 14.5 billion US dollars. In 2021 it will be 346 million tons with revenues of 26.5 billion US dollars. Even though at that time the price was still below US$ 100 per ton.

"You can imagine a surge in revenue in 2022 with coal prices approaching US$450 per tonne", concluded Mulyanto.