Indonesia: Pertamina Reduces Fuel Imports

Pertamina will reduce its monthly crude oil import by 1.5 million barrels starting from April because of surging prices, said production director Suroso Atmomartoyo of Pertamina.

He was quoted on local news website as saying "Crude oil is so expensive we cut import by 1.5 million barrels in April,". Pertamina's crude oil import ranges 6 million to 9 million barrels per month, depending on demands.

The statement flies in the face of a government announcement last week ordering Pertamina to increase oil import to solve electricity supply problem on Java caused by the fuel shortages.