Jakarta - The dependence on imported Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a concern for the government so that to reduce it is also a challenge. One of the focuses that is currently being discussed is to find alternatives to LPG that are more based on domestic resources.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, revealed that the high national consumption of LPG is a major challenge. Of the total consumption of around 8.6 million tons per year, domestic production is only able to meet around 1.6 to 1.7 million tons, while the rest, around 7 million tons, still have to be met through imports.
According to him, this condition is the impact of the policy of converting kerosene to LPG in the past which has not been fully balanced by increasing domestic production capacity. To overcome this problem, the government is now studying various substitution options.
Bahlil said that his party continued to conduct in-depth evaluations of potential alternative energy sources, even late at night. This was conveyed by Bahlil to reporters at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Monday, April 27.
One of the main obstacles in the development of the domestic LPG industry is the limitation of raw materials, namely C3 and C4 components whose production is not too large in Indonesia. Therefore, the government began to look at other options that were more feasible. The first alternative that is being pushed is the development of low-caloric coal-based dimethyl ether (DME).
Through the process of downstream processing, coal can be processed into DME which serves as a substitute for LPG. In addition to DME, the government is also studying other options in the form of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
Unlike LPG, CNG comes from gas with C1 and C2 components that are quite abundant in the country. He explained, the use of CNG requires high-pressure compression technology, between 250 to 400 bar, so that it can be used effectively by the public.
Although still in the consolidation and study phase, the government assesses that CNG has great potential as a long-term solution to reduce dependence on LPG imports while encouraging national energy independence.
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