Shell resumes Indonesian sales after restrictions curbed supply

[SINGAPORE] Shell has resumed petrol sales at its retail stations in Indonesia after import restrictions curbed supply and left its outlets temporarily dry.

Petrol will be gradually available again starting Dec 7 at Shell’s gas stations in the capital Jakarta, and Indonesian provinces of West Java and Banten, it said on Sunday (Dec 7).

The stations ran dry in October amid import restrictions imposed by the Indonesian government on private retailers such as Shell, BP and Vivo Energy. State oil and gas company Pertamina is permitted to import fuel on behalf of retailers that have exhausted their quotas.

Indonesia is South-east Asia’s largest petrol importer and the availability of the driving fuel has been tight and, at times, insufficient to meet local demand due to the restrictions. The latest shortages were wider than those seen in previous months.

Shell has about 200 gas stations across the country. It received a delivery of 100,000 barrels of fuel from Pertamina last week, according to a statement by a Pertamina unit. BLOOMBERG