Fuel Crisis Shuts Bali Schools As Motorists Face Long Lines (Worthy News In-Depth)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

KUTA, INDONESIA (Worthy News) – A fuel supply crisis has disrupted daily life on Indonesia’s internationally renowned tourist island of Bali, forcing schools to suspend in-person classes, leaving motorists waiting in lines stretching for kilometers and prompting authorities to organize emergency deliveries.

Long queues of motorcycles and cars have formed outside gasoline stations across the island, with some motorists waiting for hours to obtain fuel. The shortages have affected residents, businesses and transportation services on an island heavily dependent on tourism.

Worthy News witnessed lines of motorists stretching as far as two kilometers (1.2 miles), while residents reported even longer queues. Motorcycles are a primary means of transportation for many Indonesians, including workers who depend on them to earn a living.

The shortages have affected supplies of Pertalite, Indonesia’s subsidized gasoline, as well as Pertamax, a higher-octane fuel, although the extent of the disruption has varied between filling stations.

Indonesia’s state-owned energy company Pertamina has announced emergency measures to restore normal supplies, including around-the-clock fuel deliveries and additional shipments reportedly totaling approximately 57.9 million liters (15.3 million U.S. gallons) scheduled between October 14 and 17.

EMERGENCY FUEL DELIVERIES

The company said technical problems involving a fuel tanker’s anchor delayed unloading operations, while rough seas and unfavorable weather conditions complicated deliveries to fuel terminals at Sanggaran in Denpasar and Manggis in eastern Bali.

“This is purely a distribution issue,” said Laode Sulaeman, director-general of oil and gas at Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. “A fuel tanker was delayed, but it has now arrived and 24-hour deliveries have been underway since yesterday,” he told reporters Wednesday.

Bali Governor I Wayan Koster sought to reassure residents that adequate fuel remained in storage depots, urging motorists not to panic as authorities accelerated deliveries to gasoline stations.

“We can’t wait anymore,” shouted a crying woman working at a gasoline station as the governor approached an angry crowd. “We are working 24 hours a day,” she added, highlighting the growing frustration among workers and motorists over the shortages.

Pertamina has also increased its transportation capacity, bringing additional tanker trucks from neighboring Java to help replenish supplies. Officials arranged around-the-clock operations at 92 gasoline stations in Denpasar and Badung, two areas particularly affected by the shortages.

BALI TOURISM DISRUPTED

The crisis has raised concerns about transportation across Bali, which attracts millions of international visitors annually and relies heavily on motorcycles, taxis, private drivers and tourism-related businesses.

The fuel shortages have complicated travel across the island, threatening sightseeing excursions and daily transportation while leaving residents uncertain about where they can obtain gasoline.

“I am really concerned. I have only half a tank left, and I see people waiting for hours at the gasoline station,” bartender I Komang Yoga Aditya Pratama, 21, told Worthy News.

“I was waiting for more than three hours. There are lines of more than three kilometers,” Komang Juliantara, 30, explained to Worthy News.

“I woke up at four in the morning, and I only got gasoline at nine,” Juliantara added, describing his struggle to refuel.

SCHOOLS CLOSE AMID CRISIS

The fuel crisis has also forced schools and universities across Bali to suspend in-person classes, with students instructed to study online from October 15 through October 17 as authorities seek to reduce traffic and gasoline consumption.

Bali’s provincial administration also introduced temporary work-from-home arrangements for government employees and other institutions, while essential public services, emergency operations and security personnel were ordered to continue working on-site.

Education authorities in Denpasar and Badung confirmed that public and private schools, including kindergartens, elementary schools and junior high schools, would switch to remote learning. Universities have also moved lectures and other academic activities online.

Bali Regional Secretary Dewa Made Indra said the emergency measures were designed to ease traffic congestion and help Pertamina accelerate fuel deliveries to gasoline stations.

The disruption has extended the crisis beyond motorists, affecting students, teachers, families and workers across one of Southeast Asia’s most popular tourist destinations.

POVERTY BEYOND RESORTS

The crisis has added to financial pressures facing workers and families in Indonesia, where social protection remains limited and many people working in the informal economy lack access to comprehensive unemployment benefits or reliable income support.

For motorcycle taxi drivers, delivery workers and others dependent on daily earnings, hours spent waiting for gasoline can mean lost income in a country where millions of households have little financial protection against unexpected disruptions.

The economic contrasts were visible outside an immigration office in Bali, where Worthy News witnessed a young boy collecting discarded plastic bottles and other waste to sell while watching the unfolding fuel crisis.

The scene offered a poignant glimpse of the poverty that persists beyond Bali’s luxury resorts and tourist attractions, in a country where many families depend on informal work and have limited financial protection against economic hardship.

The shortages come as Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, faces broader energy-security concerns linked to international shipping disruptions and tensions in the Middle East.

MIDEAST ENERGY CONCERNS

Indonesia depends partly on imported petroleum and refined fuel products, making its economy vulnerable to disruptions in international energy markets and maritime transportation routes, including those around the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

However, Indonesian officials have emphasized that Bali’s immediate crisis was caused by domestic logistical problems rather than a nationwide shortage of petroleum or a direct disruption of supplies from the Middle East.

Sulaeman said national fuel reserves remained sufficient for approximately 18 to 20 days, while Pertamina maintained that additional shipments would help restore normal distribution on the island.

President Prabowo Subianto’s government has maintained subsidized fuel prices despite mounting pressure on public finances, seeking to protect households from inflation and higher transportation costs.

Pertamina President Director Simon Aloysius Mantiri apologized to Bali residents for the disruption, acknowledging that delays in unloading fuel tankers had contributed to the shortages. The company has pledged to accelerate distribution and improve services to prevent similar problems.

GOVERNMENT RUSHES FUEL

Authorities have also sought assistance from police and military personnel to help manage traffic around gasoline stations and facilitate fuel deliveries, as emergency measures continue across the island.

Officials have expressed hope that the accelerated deliveries will ease the shortages, although it remains unclear how quickly normal operations will resume at every gasoline station.

For residents and visitors on Bali, the immediate concern remains whether emergency deliveries will end the long lines and restore normal transportation across one of Indonesia’s most important tourist destinations.