Pertamina Estimates There Will Be An Increase In The Amount Of Gasoline And LPG Consumption In Aceh During Eid Al-Fitr

Pertamina gas station illustration, sales of liquid fuel and gas will increase before and during Eid 1443 H. (Antara)

JAKARTA - Ahead of and during Eid al-Fitr, the Aceh region is predicted to experience an increase in the consumption of fuel oil (BBM), especially Gasoline and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

"We predict that there will be an increase in the demand for gasoline and LPG ahead of Eid in Aceh," said PT Pertamina Patra Niaga's Area Manager of Communication Relations & CSR, Taufikurachman in an official statement, Sunday, May 1.

According to him, this year's homecoming is expected to experience a surge, especially after two years of the pandemic period, people are unable to return to their hometowns. Pertamina has formed a Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr (RAFI) Task Force.

The implementation of the RAFI Task Force starts from April 11 to May 10, 2022.

"The RAFI Task Force will work 24 hours to ensure that people's energy needs are properly met," he said.

Pertamina Patra Niaga Regional Sumbagut predicts there will be an increase in the number of fuel and LPG needs during the RAFI Task Force period. At least there will be a 9 percent increase in demand or an increase of 169 KL for Gasoline and 8 percent or 30 MT for LPG. Meanwhile, Gasoil is predicted to decrease by 5 percent or 55 KL compared to normal daily consumption.

"We are also preparing additional services including standby gas stations, standby LPG outlets, motorists, mobile storage and Pertashop. We will provide mobile storage in Central Aceh, Aceh Tamiang and Pidie districts," said Taufikurachman.

Pertamina Patra Niaga Regional Sumbagut also expressed its gratitude and appreciation to the government, TNI, Polri, and the public regarding the monitoring of subsidized fuel to make it more targeted.

On the other hand, as an effort to support the implementation of the B30 policy, PT Pertamina Patra Niaga Regional Sumbagut has made an initial supply of trading cargo for Sodium Methylate Oxide (SMO) products.

The initial supply was given to PT Sari Dumai Sejati on April 11, 2022 from the Belawan to Dumai supply point.

The purpose of supplying this SMO product is to support the production of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME). "This FAME will be used as a blending material for biofuels that supports the government's B30 policy," he said.

He explained, SMO is a chemical that is produced from mixing Methanol with Sodium Hydroxide. SMO is used as a catalyst for the transesterification process with vegetable oil and other chemicals to make FAME, which is then distributed to Pertamina Fuel Terminals throughout Indonesia as a biodiesel blending material.

"The use of SMO as a catalyst will help the production of FAME in Indonesia," said Taufikurachman.

Meanwhile, Region Manager Corporate Sales of Sumbagut, Samuel Hamonangan Lubis, said that for SMO supply needs, ten ISO tanks have been ordered with a total capacity of 225 Metric Tons (MT).

"With a potential demand for SMO products of 35,000 to 75,000 MT a year in all areas of Sumbagut (Aceh, North Sumatra, Riau, West Sumatra and Riau Islands) for sustainable supply," said Samuel.

He said the future target in 2022 is to have a portfolio of products sold by PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, especially Sumbagut Corporate Sales for the FAME market, namely Methanol, which can reach 9,000 MT so that it can meet the needs of the Indonesian people for B30 products.