Pertamina begins Cilacap renewable diesel trial in Nov

Indonesian state-controlled refiner Pertamina will begin trials of renewable diesel production at its 348,000 b/d Cilacap refinery by the end of the month.

It will produce 3,000 b/d of what the company is branding D100 Green Diesel, made from refined, bleached and deodorised palm oil.

Pertamina hopes to double output to 6,000 b/d early next year, well ahead of the initial target of June 2022.

This will be the second Pertamina refinery manufacturing renewable diesel after it began production of 1,000 b/d at its 170,000 b/d Dumai site earlier this year.

The company signed a deal with US energy firm Honeywell in September to implement the renewable diesel manufacturing technology at Cilcap and its 118,000 b/d Plaju refinery, which will produce 20,000 b/d of renewable jet fuel, diesel fuel and liquified petroleum gas by 2023.

The ramp up in output is in part to muffle crude oil imports and support the domestic palm oil industry given efforts to hit a 23pc renewable energy target by 2025.

By Amandeep Parmar