BBM - JAKARTA. Indonesia plans to impose a mandatory bioethanol content level of 10% for gasoline in 2027, part of efforts to reduce its fuel import dependence, its energy minister said on Friday.
The Southeast Asian country is aiming to expand the use of biofuels made from palm oil and sugar cane to become more energy-self sufficient. However, ethanol supply constraints have delayed its plans to introduce mandatory bioethanol content for gasoline.
Minister Bahlil Lahadalia estimated that Indonesia would need 1.4 million kilolitres of bioethanol to implement the mandatory gasoline blend of 10%.
"We plan to source all the ethanol from domestic markets," he told reporters.
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Bahlil said cassava, corn, and sugar cane could also be used for alternative feedstock for ethanol.
Indonesia had enough capacity to produce 303,325 kilolitres of bioethanol per year in 2024, but output stood at just 160,946 kL with imports at 11,829 kL, data from an association of Indonesian methylated spirits and ethanol producers showed.
Domestic demand for stood at 125,937 kL last year while exports reached 46,839 kL. (Reporting by Benardette Christina, Ananda Teresia; Editing by David Stanway