Indonesia: Jokowi said to have inked regulation on Premium despite criticism

• May 28, 2018

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has reportedly given his approval for a revised presidential regulation ensuring the supply of Premium-branded gasoline in Java, Madura and Bali, regions where the fuel was previously phased out.

The revision of Presidential Regulation No. 191/2014 has been labeled as a politically motivated move ahead of the presidential election next year. 

Fansurullah Asa, head of the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas), said the president had signed the revision, which was submitted by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan.

“We will wait for the following ministerial regulation, which assigns BPH Migas to distribute Premium in Java, Madura and Bali,” he said as quoted by Tempo.co on Friday. 

Fansurullah added the fixed volume for distribution had yet to be decided, noting that throughout 2017 the agency recorded a realization of 5.1 million liters of Premium.

Presidential spokesperson Johan Budi could not be reached for confirmation on whether Jokowi had officially signed the revised presidential regulation. 

Premium is one of state energy giant Pertamina’s products with a research octane number (RON) level of 88, the lowest RON.

Despite being a low octane gasoline, Premium is popular because of its low price, which has been set at Rp 6,550 (47 US cents) per liter for Java, Madura and Bali. Meanwhile, Pertalite, which has an RON of 90, is sold at Rp 7,800 per liter. 

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/05/27/jokowi-said-to-have-inked-regulation-on-premium-despite-criticism.html