Indonesia Adds 213,033 kL to 2021 B30 Biodiesel Allocation

Jakarta — Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) added 213,033 kilolitres (kL) to the 2021 biodiesel allocation on 30 November 2021. The revision raised the January–December allocation from an initial 9.2 million kL to 9,413,033 kL. The ministry said the additional volume was intended to meet demand through the end of the year under the B30 blending programme.

This was a change to the allocated volume, not a report that the entire revised amount had already been delivered. The distinction matters because the ministry published a separate figure for biodiesel actually used by late November.

Usage stood at 87.9% of the original allocation

ESDM said that 8.08 million kL had been realised by the fourth week of November 2021, or 87.9% of the original 9.2 million kL allocation. The new allocation was designed to cover requirements until the end of December. Those two figures therefore describe different things: one is biodiesel use reported up to late November, while the other is the full-year volume authorised after the adjustment.

Dadan Kusdiana, then director-general of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), attributed the decision to recovering public activity and stronger fuel demand. According to the ministry's 30 November statement, demand for diesel fuel had shown an upward trend since September 2021 as activity returned towards normal. ANTARA reported the following day that Dadan described the extra allocation as a response to needs through year-end.

The increase does not establish that another 213,033 kL had already been supplied. A final tally of 2021 deliveries would require subsequent distribution data. Nor should the 8.08 million kL realised up to the fourth week of November be presented as the percentage of the revised 9,413,033 kL allocation: the ministry's 87.9% comparison used the original 9.2 million kL baseline.

A 2021 decision, not a new blending ratio

ESDM identified the governing decision as 149.K/EK.05/DJE/2021, dated 30 November 2021. It described the measure as the third amendment to the decision assigning fuel companies and biodiesel producers and setting volumes for blending biodiesel with diesel during January–December 2021. The decision adjusted the quantity planned for the year; it did not change the 30% biodiesel share in the B30 blend.

Under B30, biodiesel accounts for 30% of the blend and conventional diesel for 70%. The ministry said the mandatory programme had been implemented since 1 January 2020. Increasing the annual biodiesel allocation near the end of 2021 therefore preserved the existing blending framework while allowing a larger planned volume to serve the remaining demand.

ANTARA rounded the revised total to approximately 9.4 million kL, whereas ESDM gave the exact figure of 9,413,033 kL. These are not competing policy totals; the difference is the level of precision used in the reports.

Separate from the following year's allocation

The same ESDM press release also announced a biodiesel allocation for 2022. That is a separate decision for a separate period. The 213,033 kL increase discussed here belongs to the 2021 allocation, even though both announcements appeared in the same statement. Readers comparing annual programme figures should keep the original 2021 allocation, the late-November realised volume, and the revised 2021 allocation distinct. Further programme figures are available on the biodiesel mandate data page.