JK to speed up oil-to-gas conversion in land transportation

07/13/08 01:27

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian government is to speed up implementation of its program to substitute gas for fuel oil in motor vehicles, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said.


Speaking at the commissioning of Indonesia`s first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling station at Cikarang, east of Jakarta, on Saturday, he said the government would take concrete steps, including issuance of regulations, to accelerate the oil-to-gas conversion process for automotive transport.

"Speeding up the program is very important because the use of gas will economically be more advantageous as it is more efficient, more friendly to the environment, and reduce our need for fuel oils," he said.

He said the oil-to-gas converson program for motor vehicles would be carried out in the same way as the current drive to replace kerosene by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for households.

Provincial governors would be asked to obligate all public transports in their respective regions such as city buses, taxis and mototized pedicabs to use gas instead of petrol.

The government would also encourage the switch by providing incentives to the transport companies concerned and carry out the program with a clearly defined timeframe.

About the availabiiity of gas, Kalla said Indonesia`s natural gas production was three times its oil production and expected to increase with the development of new gas producing blocks such as Natuna B Alpha, Cepu and a few others in the Makassar Strait.