Indonesia's Public Service Ombudsman said fuel shortages have emerged in Bali
and other regions, driven by vessel transport delays, distribution bottlenecks
and a shift by consumers to subsidized fuel. Ombudsman official Abdul Ghoffar
told a Jakarta briefing on Wednesday that queues at gas stations in tourism hub
Bali and manufacturing centre West Java have exceeded 1 km. Parts of
resource-rich Sumatra and Sulawesi are also facing shortages of subsidized
diesel and gasoline. The agency attributed the disruption, in Indonesia —
Southeast Asia's largest economy — mainly to a supply-demand imbalance, low
service efficiency at stations, rising demand for subsidized fuel and logistics
barriers. In Bali this week the shortage has disrupted schools and work, with
some drivers queuing for hours to refuel.
