Bali – The state-owned companies (BUMN) are getting more serious in increasing the contribution of new and renewable energy to the national energy mix, which is still dominated by fossil fuels. One way to realize it is by pushing the use of compressed biomethane for national industries.
During the international conference of state-owned enterprises in Bali, on Tuesday, 18 October 2022, a cooperation agreement to supply the compressed biomethane was signed by BUMN Pertamina NRE’s (PNRE) President Director Dannif Danusaputro, BUMN Pertagas Niaga’s (gas subholding company of Pertamina) President Director Aminuddin, and BUMN (plantations) PT Perkebunan Nusantara III’s (PTPN III) President Director Mohammad Abdul Ghani in a signing ceremony which was also witnessed by BUMN Deputy Minister Pahala Nugraha Mansury and Pertamina’s Strategy, Portfolio and Business Development Director A. Salyadi Dariah Saputra.
The compressed renewable gas is believed to contribute significantly to the energy transition process toward the full use of new and renewable energy in Indonesia.
Based on the cooperation agreement, Pertamina NRE and PTPN III will develop a facility of bio-methane production. PTPN III will supply the raw materials in the form of palm oil mill effluent (POME), which is a waste of the palm oil mills owned by PTPN III in Bah Jambi, Sei Silau, and Sei Meranti in North Sumatra province. The POME waste is processed into biogas and is then refined and compressed into the compressed bio-methane in the green refinery plant of Pertamina NRE.
Pertagas Niaga will purchase the compressed biomethane from Pertamina NRE at a total volume of 300 MMBTU per day per location of palm oil mill. At initial stage, the compressed biomethane will be supplied to meet the need of industries in North Sumatera. The use of compressed biomethane is also aimed to support the national efforts to realize the net zero emission in 2060 or even earlier.
“Pertamina NRE is the spearhead of Pertamina in implementing the energy transition program. We focus on the clean energy business. We’re enthusiastic in implementing our collaboration with other BUMN companies in supplying biogas as a renewable energy source. This synergy is part of the BUMN efforts in undertaking the energy transition process,” said Dannif.
At the same occasion, Ghani said that the synergy is in line with the strategic program of PTPN, which is also set as part of the national strategic program. “PTPN III as the holding company of BUMN plantations has launched a program to accelerate the development of new and renewable energy through the development of BioCNG plant to process POME waste into biogas,” Ghani said.
According to Aminuddin, the distribution of the compressed renewable gas will be started during the third quarter 2023. “We hope it will be able to sustainably supply the biogas to local industries which use the eco-friendly renewable energy source. This is a breakthrough for Pertagas Niaga as it is the first time our company will supply non-fossil fuels to industries,” said Aminuddin.
Besides contributing to the environmental protection, the use of compressed bio-methane will also reduce Indonesia’s import of LPG, which will then save the state income.
Actually, Indonesia has various raw materials to produce the compressed bio-methane or biogas. The raw materials can be derived from the wastes of animal farms, agriculture and plantations, which include the oil palm plantations. As the world’s largest producer of palm oil, Indonesia has abundant supply palm oil wastes from the upstream to downstream industries.
Pertamina is committed to implementing the environmental social governance (ESG) and supporting efforts to reach the sustainable development goals. The initiative of carbon trading strongly supports the 13th goal, which is climate change mitigation. (*)
Source: bumn.go.id/pertamina.com
