Asia/Pacific News
Pertamina Launches B40 Biofuels as New Blending Mandate Comes Into Effect
Indonesian state-owned refiner Pertamina has started offering B40 biofuel bunker blends at several ports after the government raised blending mandate from B35 to B40 from January 1.
The company is now offering B40 derived from palm oil for ocean-going vessels at ports such Jakarta, Benoa, Surabaya, Balikpapan and Batam, a company representative told Ship & Bunker on Tuesday.
The posted bunker prices are for blend of 500 PPM MGO and palm oil and are valid for the first two weeks of January.
Jakarta : $1,103/mt
Benoa : $1,085/mt
Surabaya : $1,049/mt
Balikpapan : $1,087/mt
Batam : $910/mt
Indonesia is the world's largest palm oil producer, and the new mandate is expected to promote the use of more palm oil in fuels while reducing the country's fuel import costs. But several environmental NGOs have criticised the use of palm-based biofuels as it leads to deforestation.
"Palm-oil biodiesel can cause up to three times the greenhouse gas emissions of fossil diesel," UK-based Environmental Justice Foundation noted on its website.
