Antara News·Indonesia·Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at 12:47 PM

DEN pushes biofuel expansion, energy reserves to curb fuel imports

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Agus Suprayitno, Yashinta Difa

Jambi City, Jambi (ANTARA) - The National Energy Council (DEN) continues to push for increased domestic production, expanding biofuel blending targets, and establishing a Strategic Energy Reserve (CPE) to fortify national energy security and reduce import dependency.

"To avoid reliance on imports, we must increase production—both fossil and non-fossil. For oil and gas, this means increasing lifting rates," DEN stakeholder member Muhammad Kholid Syeirazi stated during an energy policy outreach event in Jambi on Wednesday.

Central to the government's diversification strategy is the expansion of biofuel mandates.

While Indonesia currently enforces a B35 biodiesel program, plans are underway to scale up to B50.

Additionally, following directives from President Prabowo Subianto, DEN is evaluating bioethanol development to achieve an E50 gasoline blend by 2030.

However, Kholid highlighted substantial feedstock and capacity bottlenecks.

Achieving the E50 bioethanol target will require expanding domestic production capacity from its current 60,000 kiloliters to 16.5 million kiloliters.

Similarly, sustaining a B50 biodiesel blend demands up to 17 million kiloliters of palm oil annually—a target the government aims to meet through plantation intensification and replanting programs rather than land expansion.

Alongside production goals, DEN is finalizing mechanisms to establish official state energy buffer reserves, shifting away from total reliance on commercial operational stocks.

The council aims to secure a CPE covering 30 days of imports by 2035, with an ultimate goal of 60 to 90 days.

"In the near future, the National Energy Council is striving to get this CPE initiative off the ground. The initial phase might start with a five-to-ten-day reserve, before being gradually increased to meet the ideal target,” Kholid stated.

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