Pertamina proposes diesel oil be replaced with biofuel

State owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina has proposed to the government to replace diesel oil with B-30 biofuel in order to cut dependence on imports, Sindo Daily reported  on Saturday.

“(If the proposal is accepted), we shall no longer dependent on refineries in Singapore and China, ” Achmad Faisal, Pertamina’s Commercial and Marketing Director said in Jakarta on Friday.

Diesel oil is used in transportation and industrial sectors. The country's transportation sector consumes  around 80 million barrels of diesel oil per annum, of which some 30 percent is imported.

If the government approve of the proposal, Indonesia will no longer need to import 24 – 25 million barrels from Singapore, according to Faisal. (*)