Indonesia’s Pertamina to Scrap Low Octane Fuels Next Year

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s state oil and gas company PT Pertamina will cut the production of low octane fuel type, or locally known as Premium, on January 1, 2021, an official said on Friday.

The initiative, which is in line with Environment and Forestry Ministry (LHK) Regulation No. 20/2017 on motor vehicle emission limits, will eliminate the production of 88 octane fuel, starting from Java, Madura, and Bali islands.

Also read: Indonesia Plans to Replace 88 Octane Fuel in Stages

“Alhamdulillah [thanks be to God], last Monday I met with Pertamina’s operations director and said that starting from January 1, 2021, Premium fuel will be eliminated particularly in 'Jamali' [Java, Madura, and Bali islands],” said Forestry and Environment Ministry Environmental Pollution and Damage Control director-general MR Karliansyah in a virtual discussion on November 13.

Karliansyah further added that the plan would also be continued in other areas in the country.
The elimination of Premium fuel is part of the government’s steps to reduce the consumption of 88 octane fuel, which still dominates the consumption of gasoline in the country.

“Premium fuel still dominates 55 percent of gasoline sales,” said Karliansyah.

Also read: Indonesia’s Pertamina Ready to Scrap Low Octane Fuels Production

To support the plan, Karliansyah called on fuel producers to provide oil refineries for 91 and above octane fuels.

“On the other hand, consumers are also encouraged to choose fuels that are more environmentally friendly even though they are more expensive than the lower octane fuels,” he said.

It was previously reported that the government called on the consumers to switch from 88 octane fuel to 90 octane fuel or known as Pertalite. The cuts in the use of polluting fuels would be carried out in stages.

(Writer: Rully R. Ramli | Editor: Yoga Sukmana)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/11/13/173839126/klhk-sebut-pertamina-akan-hapus-premium-mulai-1-januari-2021.