Indonesian B40 biodiesel plan back on track as palm oil prices improve
The state-owned fuel giant Pertamina is reviving the programme after the company produced an experimental batch of new biodiesel and signed a deal to build a biodiesel catalyst factory.
Pertamina will produce its first 40% mixed biodiesel (B40) composed of 30% fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), 10% green diesel and 60% fossil fuel diesel.
The biodiesel programme is one of Indonesia’s many strategies to cut oil imports and lower carbon dioxide emissions. It has been escalated since 2016 starting with the B20 biodiesel.
Pertamina also successful carried out a three-day trial production of 1,000 barrels per day (bpd) of D100 green diesel at its refinery in Dumai, Riau, which is Indonesia’s palm oil heartland.
Meanwhile, Indonesia is still going ahead with its complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against European Union restrictions on palm oil-based biofuels.
The European Commission concluded in 2019 that palm oil cultivation leads to excessive deforestation and passed a law to phase out its use as transportation fuel between 2023 and 2030.