Indonesia launches E5 blending initiative
SOURCE: Google Maps
July 10, 2023
BY Erin Voegele
State-owned Indonesian energy company Pertamina is launching a new gasoline product containing 5 percent ethanol this summer, according to a report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network. The ethanol will be derived from domestic sugarcane.
Pertamina will initially distribute E5 at 15 stations in Surabaya City, the second largest city in Indonesia. The launch is expected to pave the way for revival of Indonesia’s gasoline blending mandate program, which has been dormant since 2009, according to the report.
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A presidential regulation signed in June set a goal for Indonesia to produce 1.2 billion liters (317.01 million gallons) of sugarcane ethanol by 2030. The implementation of an eventual E10 mandate nationwide would require an estimated 890 million liters of ethanol annually.
According to the report, the government’s push to restart its ethanol blending initiative is related to the country’s goal to become self-sufficient in sugar. The E5 blending program is expected to increase sugarcane production and boost production of molasses, which is used as an ethanol feedstock.
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Information filed with the USDA last year indicates Indonesia had three fuel ethanol refineries in place as of last year. Those facilities had a combined capacity of 100 MMly but have sat idle for nearly a decade.
A full copy of the report can be downloaded from the USDA FAS GAIN website.
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