Government approves mandatory 10% ethanol fuel policy to cut imports
Antara, 8 Oct '25
Indonesia will require all gas stations to provide ethanol-blended fuel as part of a government plan to regulate fuel composition.
President Prabowo Subianto has approved a policy mandating that fuel supplied at all gas stations in Indonesia contain 10% ethanol, aimed at reducing imports and lowering carbon emissions, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia confirmed.
Energy Minister Lahadalia stated in Jakarta on 7th October that a meeting was held with the President, who authorised the implementation of the 10% mandatory ethanol policy (E10).
The minister explained that the E10 policy seeks to reduce Indonesia's reliance on imported fuel and to promote the use of petrol with a higher ethanol content.
Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas company, Pertamina, has expressed support for the policy, citing the relevance of the measure to national energy security.
Pertamina President Director Simon Aloysius Mantiri stated that the company is preparing for the policy rollout, beginning with B40 biodiesel. He added that the E10 policy is planned for implementation next year.
B40 refers to diesel fuel that combines 40% palm-based fatty acid methyl esters with conventional diesel. The government launched a programme to promote this biofuel in January 2025.
Mantiri noted that Pertamina has already introduced ethanol into its fuel through Pertamax Green 95, which contains 5% ethanol.
The announcement of the E10 policy follows reports that some private filling station operators have been hesitant to purchase base fuel imported by Pertamina to address shortages. This hesitation reportedly relates to the imported fuel containing 3.5% ethanol.
On 6th October, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry reported that vehicles operating in Indonesia are compatible with fuels containing up to 20% ethanol.
Eniya Listiani Dewi, the ministry's Director General of New and Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, explained that despite this compatibility, the ethanol content in Indonesian fuels remains limited to 5% due to ongoing assessments of ethanol raw material availability, particularly from corn and sugarcane.
