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Logistics, transportation hamper mandatory B20 use
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A stock photo illustrates a car being filled with fuel at a gas station. (Shutterstock/File)
M
ore than one month into mandatory use of a B20 biodiesel blend, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has admitted that several issues are hampering the effort.
The ministry's energy conservation and renewable energy director general, Rida Mulyana, underlined two main issues -- logistics and transportations – particularly because state-owned oil and gas holding company Pertamina demanded that ships to transport the fuel met certain specifications.
“Lately, we learned that the ships should have certain specifications. That had been overlooked. The point is that the program is not running optimally,” Rida said on Tuesday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.
He said the government also found some private companies in violation of the requirements, which could be fined a total of Rp 270 billion (US$17.70 million).
He said that, when producing the B20 fuel, a company was required, for example, to mix 1,000 tons of crude palm oil (CPO) into the blend, but if a certain company was found to have only included 800 tons of CPO in its mix, it “has to pay a fine for the [missing] 200 tons,” he added.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said the government faced great challenges in implementing the B20 rule, but he stressed the government would continue with its policy.
The government started the policy in early September in an attempt to reduce crude oil imports to narrow the current account deficit (CAD). (bbn)
