Balikpapan RDMP to be inaugurated soon, ending Indonesia’s diesel imports
Tuesday, December 9 2025 - 07:11 AM WIB
By Bernard Loebs
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia will inaugurate the operation of the Balikpapan Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) project in East Kalimantan on Wednesday, 17 December 2025. With the start-up of the upgraded refinery, Indonesia is expected to stop importing diesel beginning in 2026, and even record a surplus.
“Our total diesel demand is around 32–33 million tonnes per year. Domestic diesel production is currently 15–16 million tonnes annually, and the rest is met using FAME or B40 (biodiesel program). CPO is mixed with methanol to produce FAME, which is then blended with diesel. We have successfully implemented the B10 to B40 programs. God willing, on 17 December we will inaugurate the Balikpapan RDMP, which will add 100,000 barrels of production capacity. With this additional output, combined with the B50 program starting in 2026, we will have a diesel surplus of 4 million tonnes,” Bahlil said at an economic conference on Monday (8 December).
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“Since we will have a diesel surplus, we will push to increase jet fuel production. This means the only fuel we will still need to import is gasoline,” he added.
As of June 2025, Indonesia still imported 10.58% of its diesel needs and 61.73% of its gasoline requirements.
The RDMP Balikpapan project aims to increase the Balikpapan refinery’s capacity from 260,000 to 360,000 barrels per day and produce additional gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and LPG, all meeting Euro V emission standards. The refinery will also add an LPG production capacity of 336,000 tons per year.
The Balikpapan refinery is owned and operated by PT Pertamina’s subsidiary PT Kilang Pertamina Balikpapan.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak