[photo : RK]
JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - State energy company PT Pertamina has signed purchase deals with eleven companies to buy fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), a type of biofuel, amounting to 1.85 million kilo liters (kl) worth approximately Rp11 trillion ($806.9 million).
The purchase deal was signed on Friday (Nov. 20) by Pertamina’s Director for Marketing Ahmad Bambang and executives of the eleven companies.
Under the deal, Pertamina will purchase 338,982 kl of FAME from PT Musim Mas Batam and PT Musim Mas Medan and 920,411 kl of FAME from two companies of Singapore-based Wilmar Group — PT Wilmar Bioenergi Indonesia and PT Wilmar Nabai Indonesia.
The other seven companies that won the tender are PT Pelita Agung Agri Industri which will supply 90,552 kl of FAME, PT Darmex Biodiesel at 130,744 kl, PT Cemerlang Energi Perkasa at 148,016 kl, PT Ciliandra Perkasa with a volume of 73,078 kl, PT energi Bahari Lestari 20,078 kl, PT Anugerah Inti Gemanusa at 49,361 kl, PT Primanusa Palma Energy at 44,189 kl and PT Bioenergi Pratama Jaya 33,375 kl.
Pertamina will purchase the FAME from 63 locations. Musim Mas and Wilmar will supply Pertamina from 14 and 29 locations respectively.
The biofuels will be supplied to Pertamina for period of November 2015 to April 2016. The biofuels will be blended into diesel and becomes biodiesel with a composition of 15 percent in every kilo of biodiesel .
Under the existing government program, the government requires Pertamina to blend 15 percent of biofuel into diesel (B-15) in 2015 and will increase to 20 percent (B20) in 2016.
Ahmad Bambang said the biofuel product price is set based on Means of Platts Singapore (MOPS). “Given the current MOPS level, the total value of the purchase is around Rp11 trillion,” he said.
Bambang said in the ten months to October, Pertamina has distributed 300,000 kl of FAME and expected to reach 966,785 kl for full year, or equals to 5.98 million kilo liters of biodiesel fuel.
Pertamina projected that with the implementation of B-20 program next year, Pertamina expects to purchase 5.14 kl of FAME or equals to 26 million kilo liters of biodiesel. Of this amount, 1.26 million kl will be supplied to meet the demand of state electricity company PT PLN.
Biofuels are alternatives to petroleum, obtained from renewable natural resources, such as palm oil.
In 2013, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM) issued regulation of Minister of ESDM No. 25/2013 which decides the blending of 10 percent biodiesel into diesel oil (B-10) to be applied in 2014, B-15 in 2015 and increased to 20 percent (B-20) in 2016. This regulation has sparked an increase in demand for biodiesel, in particular from Pertamina. (*)