Pertamina Review The Economics Of Pertamax Price Because It Is Considered Too Low, Potentially Will Increase?

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Acting. Pertamina Patra Niaga's Corporate Secretary, Irto Ginting, said that currently his party is conducting a study regarding the adjustment of the price of Pertamax fuel.

Based on information from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, RON 92 or Pertamax, the economic price is Rp. 14,500 per liter. However, currently Pertamina is still selling it at a price of Rp. 9,000.

"We are still reviewing the economic price," said Irto via text message to VOI, Tuesday, March 22.

When asked about the possibility of raising the price of Pertamax, Irto was reluctant to give an answer because he had not yet received a final decision regarding the increase in fuel prices.

Previously, the Special Staff to the Minister of SOEs, Arya Sinulingga, suggested Pertamina to recalculate the price of Pertamax because it was considered too cheap.

"Pertamax is Rp. 9,000. It can be said that Pertamina is subsidizing Pertamax. And this clearly means, Pertamina is subsidizing luxury cars that use Pertamax. This needs to be recalculated so that there is justice," he told reporters, Tuesday, March 22.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the ReforMiner Institute, Komaidi Notonegoro, said that Pertamina should increase the price of Pertamax because the current price is still using the ICP reference of US$65 per barrel while world oil prices are currently higher than US$100 per barrel.

"I think it needs to be reviewed and the economic price calculated again," he told VOI.

He continued, the high price of world crude oil not only burdened the government, but also burdened Pertamina as a business entity that sells non-assigned fuel.

"Even if there is an increase, it shouldn't be too big. The consumers are the upper middle class, so it won't have much impact on purchasing power," he concluded.

For your information, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has set the Indonesian Crude Price (ICP) for February 2002 at 95.72 US dollars per barrel. Meanwhile, the provisional ICP figure for March 2022 until the 17th is US$114.77 per barrel.

In March 2022, the upper limit for the selling price of the general type of fuel, RON 92, is Rp. 14,526 per liter. The price is a reflection of the economic price of fuel based on the basic price formula in calculating the selling price for general types of fuel.

The selling price of Ron 92 fuel at this gas station varies depending on the business entity. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources noted that various gas stations sell Ron 92 fuel ranging from Rp. 11,000 to Rp. 14,400 per liter. Except for Pertamina, which sells quite low at Rp. 9,000 per liter.