Pertamina Plans To Eliminate Non-Environmentally Friendly Fuels Such As Premium, Pertalite, And Solar

Illustration of a Pertamina gas station. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - PT Pertamina (Persero) plans to phase out products of fuel oil (BBM) which are considered unfriendly to the environment. This step is part of the restructuring efforts undertaken by the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) against the state-owned company.

Pertamina's Managing Director Nicke Widyawati explained that product processing would later refer to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) Regulation Number 20 of 2017 concerning the limitation of the Research Octane Number (RON) or octane of the BBM used.

In this regulation, the RON limit in gasoline products is regulated, namely a minimum of 91 with a maximum sulfur content of 50 ppm and a minimum cetane number threshold of 51 with a maximum sulfur content of 50 ppm for diesel products. The rules define product thresholds with a minimum of the Euro IV standard.

Nicke said the world and the government had agreed to reduce exhaust or carbon emissions by encouraging the use of energy that was more environmentally friendly.

"So when it comes to simplification, we have to look at the philosophy first, that there is a regulation from the government and also a world agreement on how we protect the environment. So there is a regulation from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry which stipulates that to maintain carbon emissions, maintain air pollution there are RON limits," he said in a virtual discussion entitled 'Spurring Pertamina's Work', Monday, June 15.

On the basis of the Minister of Environment and Forestry's regulation, said Nicke, Pertamina would prioritize products that are environmentally friendly. In addition, Pertamina will also encourage people to use environmentally friendly fuel.

Nicke said that as long as large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) were put in place, everyone could feel the air was much healthier and even the sky became bluer than usual. This is because, when the PSBB people do not leave their homes and public transportation is reduced in number so that the carbon emissions of private and public vehicles are drastically reduced.

"We will continue to encourage people to use environmentally friendly fuel. So we will push it towards products that will be good. The feasibility of our environmentally friendly fuel will be added for the benefit of our children and grandchildren in the future," he explained.

In addition, said Nicke, product simplification would also facilitate distribution. According to him, if the distribution becomes easier, it is not impossible that the price of environmentally friendly products will be cheaper.

Previously, the Minister of BUMN, Erick Thohir, revealed that currently Pertamina has too many gasoline products. There are nine types of petrol products from Pertamax Turbo to Pertalite and Premium. He admitted that he wanted to consolidate gasoline products so that there were not too many gasoline products.

"At Pertamina, there are also many oil products. There are nine brands of gasoline with the same solution. Now we want to consolidate them into one, the strategy should not be separated," he said in a video conference with journalists, Friday, June 12.

Types of fuel

Pertamina's petrol engine type, there are Pertamax Turbo products that contain RON 98, Pertamax RON at least 92, Pertalite RON 90, and Premium RON 88.

As for diesel-engined fuels, namely Pertamina Dex with a cetane number 53, a minimum dexlite cetane number 51, and diesel with a cetane number 48.

So if you refer to the KLHK rules above, the types of products that do not meet the required RON standards and cetane number are Pertalite and Premium on gasoline, and diesel on diesel.