Jakarta (Antara Bali) - State-owned oil company Pertamina has since last Friday launched a sale test of its new fuel type Pertalite, a Research Octane Number (RON) 90 fuel, at 101 refilling stations in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya.
The volumes of the new fuel type sales in two days after it was launched on Friday increased significantly. The volumes of Pertalite sales at 30 refilling stations (SPBU) in East Javas Surabaya and its surroundings on Saturday reached 82,860 liters, or about 2,732 litters per SBPU.
This showed an increase of 69.2 percent if compared with the sales on the first day on Friday (July 24, 2015). "With these conditions, we are convinced the sales of Pertalite will be successful," Wianda Pusponegoro, the corporate vice communications president of Pertamina said here on Sunday.
Wianda Pusponegoro said that consumers enthusiastically welcome the launch of the new type of Pertaminas fuel, or Pertalite RON 90.
She said that the sales of Pertalite at 11 refilling stations in Sidoarjo and Mojokerto of East Java on Saturday increased by 269 percent from the sales on the first day recorded at 9,859 liters to 26,523 liters on Saturday.
"In one SPBU alone, the sales of Pertalite on Saturday reached 4,781 liters. We are happy with that and we should be thankful because the facts show consumers are giving appreciations to our new products," Pusponegoro said.
Consumers in West Java also showed the same enthusiasm as indicated in the increase in the sales of Pertalite about 88.9 0percent on Saturday if compared with the sales on the first day on Friday, July 24, 2015.
The sales of Pertalite on Saturday, July 25, in 66 SPBUs in West Java, reached 186,610 liters or about 2,827 liters per refilling station, even in some of the SBPU the sales reached over 5,000 liters per day.
State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina started a trial sales test of its new Pertalite fuel at 101 SBPUs in three cities of Jakarta, Bandung (68 SBPUs) and Surabaya (33 SBPUs) on Friday, July 24, 2015.
Actually, the launch of Pertalite on Friday was two months behind schedule as previously planned in May. It was postponed it as it still needed to popularized before putting it on the market.
Pertaminas Marketing Director Ahmad Bambang has earlier said (April 26) that his company was ready to distribute Pertalite starting from May, 2015.
"We are around 90 percent ready," Bambang was quoted on April 27 by the Jakarta Post as saying. However, Pertamina decided to delay it as it still considered the need to popularize it.
On Friday (July 24) the new fuel began to be put on the market after passing through various technical test phases and gaining permits from the government.
Pertamina is introducing Pertalite fuel to provide alternatives for motorists who wanted to use quality fuels with octane higher than that of gasoline premium (RON 88), but with a lower price than that of Pertamax which is RON 92.
With Octane 90 Pertalite, the machines of vehicles will perform better combustion as it suitable with cars of the latest technology and far better than that of gasoline Premium RON 88.
In the meantime, energy observer of IRESS Marwan Batubara said the launch of Pertalite on the market was one of the ways taken by Pertamina to reduce its losses as a result of the sale of Premium gasoline whose price is under the control of the government.
"The launch of Pertalite in the market is one of Pertaminas ways to offset its losses coming from the distribution premium whose price is under the control of the government," Marwan Batu Bara said on Sunday.
He said that Pertamina in deciding to fix the price of Pertalite did not need to abide by Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 191/2014 such as when it decides the price of Pertamax. This could allow Pertamina to measure its profit.
"After all, in technical term, Pertalite would make car machines better to cover six percent longer distance coverage besides being environmentally friendly. Thus, Pertalite could be a better choice for consumers instead of buying Pertamax whose price is higher," Marwan said.
He said that the government should be consistent with its fuel subsidy in the state budget. The government now does no longer provide a subsidy and it fears the public would criticize it.
This is because government sets the price of the fuel at a lower level than its viable economic price. And this will victimize Pertamina, he said.
"The price formula has been regulated in the Presidential Regulation that any change in the price should be open to the public in an effort to avoid unnecessary complaints and criticism," the energy observer of IRESS said.
He said that the price of fuel now was no longer suitable with the normal price because the present price level was set in January 2014 when the rupiah currency was still Rp12 thousand per US dollar and the world crude price at US$50-US$60 per barrel.
"Now admittedly that the price of crude has dropped to about US$49 per barrel but the exchange rate of the rupiah increases to Rp13,400 per US dollar. So, if we have to be consistent with the Perpres No. 191/2014, the fuel price should be increased," Marwan remarked.
In the meantime, Wahyu Ario, economic observer of the North Sumatra University, said the government should evaluate its steps as it turned out to be basically providing a subsidy in the sale of Pertalite.
"Pertamina said it sold Pertalite at Rp8,400 per liter. This is still below its economic viability price of Rp8,700 per liter. This means that the government still provides a subsidy of Rp300 per liter," Wahyu said in Medan on Saturday.
The subsidy needed to be questioned because Pertamina had been trying to cut subsidy for gasoline premium type which is consumed the largest portion of consumers.
"If the Pertalite fuel is designed for financially capable consumers, why should it be subsidized?" he questioned.
Besides that Pertamina did not keep its promise as it had earlier said that the price of Pertalite would be set only slightly higher than Premium, namely at Rp7,000 per liter. But now it is set at Rp8,400 per liter, he said. (WDY)
