Pertamina breaks ground on Cilacap biorefinery to expand SAF production
Monday, February 9 2026 - 08:14 AM WIB
By Romel S. Gurky
State oil, gas company PT Pertamina (Persero) has held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Cilacap Biorefinery project, Central Java, which will produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) using used cooking oil as feedstock.
The project is a continuation of the Phase 1 revamp of the Cilacap refinery’s Treating Diesel HydroTreater unit, which currently produces SAF through a co-processing scheme. Under the Phase 2 development, SAF production capacity is planned to increase from 27 kiloliters per day to 887 kiloliters per day by 2029.
Pertamina Director of Portfolio Strategy and Business Development Emma Sri Martini said during the Feb. 6 ceremony that the project is included among priority downstream energy programs and forms part of Pertamina’s effort to expand lower carbon fuel production while maintaining existing operations.
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The biorefinery is being developed in stages to reduce reliance on fossil based aviation fuel and support long term aviation energy supply.
Pertamina said the project involves coordination across regulators, feedstock suppliers, producers, and offtakers to establish an integrated SAF supply chain.
The company estimates the development could reduce carbon emissions by up to 600,000 tons of CO2 annually, while targeting domestic content of 30 percent.
Editing by Alexander Ginting