Bahlil asks entrepreneurs to use B50, do not alienate

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia. (Teddy VOI)

KARAWANG - Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia asked large companies, especially the mining sector, to use B50 biodiesel. He even jokingly alluded to the possibility of reviewing the Work Plan and Budget or RKAB for companies that do not use the fuel.

Bahlil conveyed this when launching B50 by President Prabowo Subianto in Karawang, West Java, Thursday, July 9. A number of business actors and users of B50 from various sectors attended the event.

"Now we have talked to entrepreneurs, especially mining. There is Boy Thohir there, there is Astra, then there is Pak Arsyad, there are many entrepreneurs," said Bahlil.

He said the government wanted large users to absorb B50. Bahlil assessed that there should be no reason to continue to use foreign products if Indonesia is able to produce fuel based on its own resources.

RKAB is a work plan and budget document which is one of the important instruments in mining business activities.

According to Bahlil, the use of B50 must be part of the siding on domestic products. He said business actors had expressed their commitment to using B50.

"This must be us, this is using domestic products, don't keep strangers. This is so that they are committed," said Bahlil.

The government launched B50 after a six-month trial. According to Bahlil, the testing was carried out on various modes and sectors, ranging from trains, cars, buses, ships, mining, agriculture, railways, marine transportation, to industry.

Bahlil said the results of the B50 test were better than B40. One indicator is seen in the life of the vehicle's filter. In B40, the filter is usually replaced after the vehicle has traveled 10,000 to 20,000 kilometers.

At B50, said Bahlil, there are vehicles that have traveled 40,000 kilometers without changing the filter.

"Alhamdulillah the results of the test, it turns out that the quality of B50 is much better than B40," he said.

Bahlil also reported that B50 had been used by around 56 percent of the total solar running. The government has prepared a two-month transition period until B40 is exhausted and all use switches to B50.

"So later the B40 two months will be over, two months of transition, everything will use B50," said Bahlil.

B50 is a mixture of 50 percent fossil diesel and 50 percent palm oil-based biofuel. The program is associated with the government's efforts to reduce diesel imports, expand the domestic palm oil market, and strengthen energy independence.

Bahlil said that the average national consumption of solar fuel was in the range of 38 million to 40 million kiloliters per year. Before B50 was implemented, Indonesia still imported around 3 million to 4 million kiloliters of solar fuel per year.

With B50, Bahlil claims that Indonesia no longer imports solar products. The government also calculates that this program can hold foreign exchange up to around Rp. 170 trillion.

"With the implementation of B50, thank God we no longer import solar products to our country. And this is the first time," said Bahlil.