JAKARTA - Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia confirmed that the fuel stock ahead of Eid al-Fitr was safe, but he also opened an issue that often slipped away, namely the storage capacity (storage) of Indonesian fuel was stuck in the range of 21-25 days. Therefore, the 22-23 day inventory figure that has been widely questioned recently, according to him, should not be read as the government's inability to prepare stocks.
"Don't misinterpret it," said Bahlil when met at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Wednesday, March 4. He said the meeting with the National Energy Council and Pertamina concluded that the fuel stock ahead of Eid "God willing, everything is safe," including LPG. This condition, he said, is still maintained even though there is global dynamics, including the escalation of Iran and Israel.
Bahlil also ensured that the subsidized fuel price would not rise until Eid. "For the subsidized fuel price, I will ensure that until Eid there will be no increase at all," he said. Meanwhile, non-subsidized fuel, he emphasized, follows the market mechanism according to the rules (permen) which he said would be issued in 2022.
Regarding capacity, Bahlil explained that the national storage capacity "is no more than 21 to 25 days." The national minimum standard, according to him, is 20-21 days, with an upper limit of 25 days. The data he received from Pertamina and the National Energy Council, the average stock is 22-23 days.
The next question, said Bahlil, is straightforward. If you want to add more stock than 25 days, where do you want to store it? "The storage is not enough," he said. That is why, he said, Prabowo Subianto ordered the acceleration of storage development so that energy security would not continue to depend on "the limit of the tank".
The target, said Bahlil, is that the new storage is expected to be able to support reserves for up to three months. The figure he referred to as the minimum standard of global consensus.
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