Biodiesel consumption to rise in Malaysia

Malaysia's palm oil-based biodiesel consumption is set to rise by more than 300,000 metric tons annually, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board said.
The country has now joined the top producer Indonesia in raising blending mandates to reduce reliance on energy imports.
The Malaysian government said it would increase its 10% biodiesel mandate, known as B10, to a 15% biodiesel blend without giving a timeline. It will start with a 12% blend without incurring any additional production costs and using only existing biodiesel blending plants.
Malaysia, the world's second-largest palm oil producer, currently imposes the B10 mandate for the transportation sector, though a 20% mandate has been implemented in the federal territory of Labuan, Langkawi island and the state of Sarawak, excluding the town of Bintulu.
The move from B10 to B12 is expected to increase biodiesel consumption by an additional 130,000 tons per year, while the subsequent expansion to B15 is estimated to boost consumption by about 204,000 tons annually.