GOVT SAVES RP20 TRILLION ON GAS CONVERSION PROGRAM

Serang, Banten, Nov 8 (ANTARA) - Oil and Gas Director Evita Legowo said the government's kerosene-liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) conversion program was able to save Rp20 trillion.

"In 2007, the government provided subsidy of Rp37 trillion, but with the kerosene-LPG conversion program, the government only spends Rp17 trillion so that it is able to save Rp20 trillion," the director general said here on Sunday.

She said that with the kerosene-gas conversion program the government was able to save Rp20 trillion on fuel oil subsidies while consumers or the people were able to save Rp20 to Rp25 thousand per month per family.

The director general said that the conversion program which was started in 2007 and was expected to be completed in 2010 targeted 42 more than 42 million families.

State-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina has set itself a target of accomplishing the conversion program in the middle of 2010.

According to Pertamina's marketing deputy director Hanung Budya last month, up to the middle of October 2009, Pertamina had distributed 3 kg liquefied petroleum gas cylinder packages to 40 million families in its kerosene-to-gas conversion program throughout the country.

"We have the target that all the 52 million kerosene-to-gas conversion packages would have been distributed to the consumers in the middle of 2010," Budya said.

He said that with 40 million packages already distributed to the targeted families, Pertamina still had only 12 million packages to be distributed next year.

Up to now, the program has covered 13 provinces where 6.3 million kiloliters of subsidized kerosene has been withdrawn, while 1.9 million tons of LPG have been distributed.

"Pertamina managed to save on the conversion program worth Rp20 trillion, and after being deducted with conversion cost valued at Rp9.3 trillion, the net money saved on the program is Rp10.7 trillion," the Pertamina official said.***2***