Indonesia: Bali fuel supply delays spark panic buying and hours-long queues

Indonesia's resort island of Bali faced long queues at petrol stations on Wednesday, 14 October, as disrupted fuel deliveries left motorists waiting for hours.

Queues of motorcycles and cars spilled onto roads across the Indonesian resort island. One Denpasar resident said she had waited about seven hours in the heat to buy petrol.

Officials blamed distribution delays rather than depleted island-wide stocks. Indonesia’s state-owned energy company Pertamina said a tanker’s anchor problem had delayed unloading, while road congestion slowed deliveries to stations. Panic buying added to the pressure, particularly for cheaper, subsidised Pertalite petrol.

Bali Governor Wayan Koster urged residents not to panic, saying fuel remained available at storage depots. Pertamina said on Wednesday that an additional 57.9 million litres of petrol were scheduled to arrive in Bali between 14 and 17 October. Deliveries were stepped up around the clock, with 60 stations in Denpasar operating 24 hours a day. Queues persisted despite the additional supplies.