Indonesia pushes ahead with biodiesel programme

Indonesian president Joko Widodo is in support of higher biodiesel mandates to meet long-term climate goals, despite recent issues such as funding.

Indonesia has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 29pc by 2030 in a business-as-usual scenario, rising to 41pc conditional on international cooperation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Jakarta increased the national biodiesel blending mandate to 30pc (B30) from 1 January, up from 20pc last year, but low crude prices and stalled demand because of Covid-19 lockdowns meant the country had to adjust its formula pricing and funding structure to keep the programme going.

A planned further rise to B40 next year has also been postponed but Widodo is keen to push ahead with B50 and B100 in the long term.

State-controlled refiner Pertamina has implemented plans to produce B100 diesel from crude palm oil. It will start producing 3,000 b/d (129,000 t/yr) of B100 at its 348,000 b/d Cilacap refinery from June next year, aiming to double that output by 2022. It is also targeting production of 20,000 b/d at its 118,000 b/d Plaju refinery by 2023.

By Amandeep Parmar