Indonesia has Ample Fuel Stock Energy

Jakarta, Nov 17 (Antara) -- Ahead of the government`s plan to announce a fuel price hike soon, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Sudirman Said, said that Indonesia still has enough national fuel stock. "We have no problem regarding national stock of fuel," Said stated, adding that state-owned oil company Pertamina had purchased extra fuel to add to the existing reserves. When asked about when the government would announce the fuel price hike, the minister pointed out that the subject would be discussed further during the cabinet meeting here on Monday with President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi. Furthermore, Said expressed hope that people would understand the reason behind the government`s decision to soon withdraw the fuel subsidy, a move that will increase the cost of fuel in the country. The government explained that allocation of fuel subsidy was not effective and proposed to reallocate the funds to the development of the education and human resources sectors. Currently, the government is looking into the possibility of raising the price of subsidized fuel. Among factors being taken into consideration are the price of world`s crude oil, inflation rate, and the availability of logistics. During his tour abroad to attend the APEC, ASEAN and G-20 summits recently, President Jokowi noted that he would mull over whether to increase cost of fuel because the world`s oil price was now on the decline.