Indonesia Plans Increase in Palm Oil-based Biodiesel In 2025
JAKARTA, July 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia, the world's most significant palm oil producer, is evaluating fuel with a view to increasing to 40% from 35% the share of palm-oil blended into biodiesel next year, the energy ministry said.
If implemented, the B40 required might increase biodiesel intake to as much as 16 million kilolitres (KL) next year, the ministry said, from 13 million KL estimated to be consumed in 2024.
"We hope the trials might be completed in December, so that full application of B40 could be carried out in 2025," energy ministry senior main Eniya Listiani Dewi said in a declaration on Tuesday.
The Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (APROBI) said the industry had the capacity to meet B40 demand, with installed capability anticipated to increase to 20 million KL each year next year from 18 million KL now.
"However we will need more raw materials to fulfill B40 demand," Ernest Gunawan, the secretary general of APROBI told Reuters on Wednesday.
The biodiesel industry would require 13.9 million metric lots of crude palm oil to produce 16 million KL biodiesel next year, from the approximated 11 million loads required this year, he included.
Indonesia's most significant palm oil association GAPKI stated a decline in exports implied there would be adequate basic materials to supply the B40 mandate for now.
But the industry would require to examine "which one would be more valuable", GAPKI chairman Eddy said, describing the possibility an increase in exports would make providing the domestic market less feasible.
Indonesia's palm oil output is approximated to reach 54.4 million lots in 2024, a 2.26% boost from in 2015, while exports are anticipated to decline by 2.47% to 29.5 million heaps as domestic intake increased, driven by biodiesel mandate.
The ministry had actually tested the biodiesel, blended with 40% of palm oil, on a train for the very first time previously this week, while preparing to test the B40 mix on agriculture equipment, power plants and in the shipping market, it said. (Reporting by Bernadette Christina and Dewi Kurniawati; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by John Mair, Savio D'Souza and Barbara Lewis)