Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia has called on private retailers facing supply shortages of fuel to work with state-owned oil company PT Pertamina in order to safeguard fuel availability and prevent disruptions to the public.

“This concerns the basic needs of the people. Industries tied to public livelihoods must remain under state control to ensure everything runs well,” Bahlil told reporters on Tuesday, September 16, 2025.

He noted that the government had already increased private operators’ fuel import quotas by 10 percent this year to help ease supply pressures.

“For example, if company A was allocated 1 million kiloliters in 2024, in 2025 we gave them 1.1 million kiloliters. So, it’s inaccurate to say we didn’t provide sufficient import quotas,” Bahlil said.

The minister stressed that collaboration with Pertamina is crucial to securing stable supplies, given the vital role of fuel in the economy. He said he had led a coordination meeting with Pertamina and set up a special task force to monitor distribution.

ESDM ministry has pledged to keep monitoring supply and labor conditions at affected stations to minimize the impact of the shortages while ensuring collaboration with Pertamina prevents further disruptions.

For the time being, shortages at Shell Indonesia gas stations continue to affect daily operations. President director and managing director of Shell Indonesia Mobility, Ingrid Siburian, said that the company has been forced to adjust its operations due to the unavailability of key gasoline products.

“We have adjusted operational hours and staffing schedules while several fuel types, including Shell Super, Shell V-Power, and Shell V-Power Nitro+, remain unavailable at a number of stations,” Ingrid said on Tuesday.

The adjustments include reduced working hours, fewer workdays, and even temporary furloughs for some employees. Despite the constraints, Shell said it continues to serve customers with remaining fuel products and other services, such as Shell Select convenience stores, Shell Recharge, workshops, and lubricants.

“We are in close coordination with stakeholders to ensure gasoline products can return to our stations soon,” Ingrid said.