Jokowi: Energy Independence To Fix Current Account Deficit

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo said that realizing energy independence is not only by using palm oil as fuel. However, downstreaming other raw materials is also carried out on a large scale.

"Coal is processed into methanol and gas. Several refineries are built to process crude oil into finished oil, and at the same time become the driving force for the petrochemical industry that supplies high value added downstream industrial products," said President Joko Widodo in a speech at the MPR Annual Session, Jakarta, Friday, August 14th.

Then, said Joko Widodo, nickel ore can be processed into ferrous nickel, stainless steel slabs, steel sheets, and developed into the main material for lithium batteries. Thus, in the future Indonesia will no longer need to import to meet domestic raw materials.

"This will improve our current account deficit, increase job opportunities, and start reducing the dominance of fossil energy," said Joko Widodo.

In addition, he said, this step will also make Indonesia's position very strategic in developing lithium batteries, world electric cars, and technology producers in the future.

"We also use the same principle in developing other industrial areas, including the construction of the super economic corridor on the north coast of Java," said Joko Widodo.

Jokowi previously said that working with researchers had succeeded in creating a catalyst for the manufacture of D100, a diesel fuel made 100% from palm oil. And it is currently testing production at two Pertamina refineries.

"This will absorb a minimum of 1 million tons of palm oil produced by farmers for a production capacity of 20 thousand barrels per day," said Joko Widodo.