Overcoming Oxygen Scarcity, Luhut Coordinates With The Ministry Of Industry To Push Production Of 1,700 Tons Per Day

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. (Photo: Doc. Kemenko Marves)

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan requested that all oxygen supplies be converted to meet medical needs.

The reason is that the availability of oxygen is a problem that must be immediately addressed in the midst of the soaring increase in COVID-19 cases. Data from the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) and the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) show an increase in oxygen demand to five times.

"Now we need detailed data. We make full industrial oxygen conversions to pharmaceutical oxygen. Our shortfall can later be fulfilled, if all industrial oxygen we focus on pharmaceutical oxygen," Luhut said in a written statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Monday 5th July.

In a meeting in Jakarta, Sunday, July 4, Luhut immediately coordinated with the Ministry of Industry so that the recording of oxygen demand in each city could be tidied up.

The Ministry of Industry stated that oxygen gas producers were 100 percent obliged to shift their oxygen production to medical oxygen. Through this obligation, 1,700 tons of oxygen can be obtained nationally per day, of which 1,400 tons are used for the island of Java.

Small oxygen industries have also begun to be mobilized to convert their oxygen gas production to pharmaceutical oxygen.

In addition, several companies also sent Iso Tanks for handling oxygen supplies. It is recorded that 21 units of 20 ton Iso Tank capacity from IMIP Morowali will arrive in Tanjung Priok on Tuesday, July 6. They were followed by 5 units of Iso Tanks from Balikpapan (a new Iso Tank) which will arrive on Friday 9 July at Tanjung Priok Port.

Meanwhile, 4 units of 20 feet from Pertamina (ex LNG needs to be cleaned) are on their way from Belawan in about four to five days by sea. Finally, there will be an additional 3 tons of liquid oxygen per day from Krakatau Steel, Cilegon. Likewise, supplies from PT Matesu Abadi from Qingdao are also planned to arrive in Surabaya on Saturday (10/7) with 2,300 small tubes with a capacity of 1 cubic meter.

Several oxygen industries, such as Samator Group, LINDE Indonesia, Petrokimia Gresik, Air Products Indonesia, Air Liquide Indonesia, and Iwatani Industrial Gas Indonesia are also committed to supplying medical oxygen in Java, which in total can reach 1,315 tons per day.