Indonesia’s Pertamina Expands Trials of Green Diesel D100

Indonesian state oil and gas company Pertamina said it has begun a second round of test production for a biodiesel made entirely from palm oil at its largest refinery in Central Java Province, Business Trends reported on January 15. The test run for Green Diesel D100 kicked off at the Cilacap refinery on January 9 and is scheduled to wrap up on January 16. It follows a similar test in July. Pertamina is also continuing production trials for its “green avtur” jet fuel made of palm oil, which began in late December.  These efforts come as the government pushes to expand the use of palm oil-based biofuels to ease oil imports and boost a vital sector of the economy. 
Indonesia has been quickly expanding its biodiesel program in the past few years to reduce its dependence on oil imports and narrow its current account deficits, while also supporting the domestic palm oil industry as it faces pressure from Europe over environmental concerns. According to Energy Minister Arifin Tarif, biodiesel consumption in the country reached 8.46 million kiloliters last year, an increase of more than 30% over 2019.  This saved the country $2.66 billion in foreign reserves, he said. 
In September 2018, the government mandated that all diesel sold in the country must be B20 a biodiesel mix containing 20% palm oil and 80% regular diesel. The program was upgraded to B30 in January last year, with initial plans for an upgrade to B40 this year. The B40 program has been put on hold, however, as the corona virus pandemic suppressed crude oil prices and caused palm oil prices to soar in the second half of last year, making the use of biodiesel more expensive. 
B30, D100 and green jet fuel are different biofuel products in that B30 uses a palm oil derivative called fatty acid methyl ester (FAME).  D100 is produced using “refined, bleached, and deodorized” palm oil while green jet fuel uses “refined, bleached, and deodorized” palm kernel oil.