Indonesia to Require 5% Bioethanol in Non-Subsidised Gasoline From H2 2026, Starting in Java

Jakarta — The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) will require all fuel retailers to blend 5% bioethanol (E5) into non-subsidised gasoline from the second half of 2026, starting on the island of Java. The plan was presented by Eniya Listiani Dewi, Director General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE), at a hearing with House of Representatives Commission XII on Thursday, 4 June 2026.

The obligation rests on ESDM Ministerial Regulation No. 4 of 2025 on the business and use of biofuels. Implementation details, including volumes, will be set out in an ESDM Ministerial Decree that Eniya said was targeted for issue in June 2026, as reported by detikFinance and Katadata.

Non-subsidised gasoline only, starting in Java

According to Investor Trust, Eniya stressed that bioethanol blending applies only to the non-PSO sector, meaning non-subsidised gasoline. Subsidised gasoline is not included at this stage. The government says the programme will eventually apply nationwide, but the initial rollout focuses on Java.

Ethanol-blended gasoline is expected to be sold through Pertamina's existing outlets. Eniya said the mandate will increase the number of outlets selling ethanol blends, which so far have been limited to market trials of Pertamax Green 95, Pertamina's E5 product.

Year	Pertamax Green 95 (kilolitres)	Bioethanol (kilolitres)
2023	812.3	80
2024	7,488	357
2025	16,234	812
2026 (part year)	7,572	379

Sales of Pertamax Green 95 and the bioethanol blended into it, as published by Katadata. The 2026 figures do not cover a full year.

Three ethanol producers in the first phase

On supply, ESDM has identified several bioethanol plants already able to produce fuel-grade ethanol with purity above 99%. Eniya said three companies will take part in the first phase of the mandate, although they have not been named.

Two weeks earlier, on the sidelines of IPA Convex 2026, Eniya said the three producers have a combined capacity of about 26,000 kilolitres of fuel-grade ethanol, according to Antara and Petromindo. At the time, ESDM Minister Bahlil Lahadalia also instructed that E5 feedstock must come from domestic sources rather than imports.

A shifting timetable

The E5 schedule changed several times within a few weeks. On 21 May 2026, Antara quoted Eniya as saying E5 would become mandatory from July 2026 in selected locations — Jakarta, East Java, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, Bali and Lampung — alongside the B50 biodiesel mandate. Petromindo reported the following day that the first phase would cover East Java, Jakarta, West Java, Banten, Central Java and Yogyakarta, with Bali following in 2027.

At the 4 June hearing, the initial scope was described as the whole of Java, starting in the second half of 2026. detikFinance wrote that implementation was hoped to begin on 1 July 2026 together with B50, but Eniya described that date as a wish rather than a firm commitment. For the next step, the blend is planned to rise to 10% (E10) in 2028, according to Katadata.

That E10 timing differs from Minister Bahlil's statement in October 2025, when he targeted E10 from 2027. The diverging targets show the bioethanol roadmap is still being finalised, while final allocation volumes await the ministerial decree.

For the biofuel industry, the E5 mandate would be the first blending obligation for gasoline, following the biodiesel programme's gradual rise to B50. Developments in biofuel regulation can be followed on the Media Biodiesel biodiesel regulation page.