Pertamina Defers Some May Gasoline Cargoes to June

PERTAMINA - JAKARTA. Indonesian state energy company PT Pertamina has deferred some of its gasoline deliveries for May to June after the high-demand season of Ramadan ended, trade sources said.

The company made a "delivery adjustment" after considering domestic demand, consumption patterns, product inventory levels and energy security, said Murti Dewi Hani, a spokesperson at Pertamina Patra Niaga, the company's trading unit.

She did not give details about volumes or timing.

Indonesia is Asia's biggest gasoline importer and buys an average of 10 million-11 million tonnes of the motor fuel annually.

The country imported about 60% of the gasoline it used last year at a cost of $17 billion. It aims to introduce bioethanol mandates for gasoline to further cut fuel imports and carbon emissions.

A Singapore-based gasoline trader said local demand during May will most likely be less than expected.

Indonesia imported about 2.1 million tonnes of gasoline in March and April, ship-tracking data from Kpler showed. That is down from 2.86 million tonnes in the same period last year, according to data from Statistics Indonesia.

Indonesia's gasoline consumption growth is expected to slow slightly along with its economy this year, although imports could still hit records as the nation recovers from COVID-related travel curbs.

Its economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter but is set to struggle over the coming quarters, which could affect domestic demand, analysts said.