President Asks About E20 Readiness; Ethanol Plan Prepared as B50 Continues

Jakarta — President Prabowo Subianto asked about Indonesia’s readiness to introduce E20 ethanol-blended petrol at a palace meeting on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the government had prepared a strategic plan covering ethanol blends from E20 to E50 with the agriculture ministry. He also said the B50 biodiesel programme would continue. Neither an E20 start date nor a production capacity for the ethanol supply was announced with the statement.

Feedstock readiness sits at the centre of the plan

In its account of the meeting, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) said the president had raised the question of E20 implementation. E20 means petrol containing 20% ethanol, while E50 refers to a 50% ethanol blend. Discussing both levels in a strategic plan does not establish that either fuel is already available at filling stations, or that the two blends would begin on the same date.

Bahlil said ESDM would work with the Ministry of Agriculture because the upstream supply of feedstock was essential. ANTARA also reported his remarks after the meeting, describing a plan to prepare ethanol blends up to E50 through collaboration between the two ministries. The accounts did not specify the volume of agricultural inputs, the number of processing plants, distribution locations, or a timetable for the blends.

The statement is therefore an announcement about preparation rather than evidence that a new nationwide blending obligation has taken effect. Arranging agricultural supply and processing capacity is distinct from setting an enforceable petrol specification. The reporting on the 3 November meeting did not provide a technical implementing rule for retailers or a confirmed launch date for E20.

B50 continues alongside, rather than giving way to, E20

Bahlil told reporters after the meeting that Indonesia would maintain B50 amid geopolitical uncertainty. The ministry likewise described continuation of the B50 mandate as part of its effort to use domestic energy resources and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuel. The two programmes address different fuels: B50 is biodiesel blended into diesel, whereas E20 is ethanol blended into petrol.

That distinction matters when assessing what the policy announcement changes. An existing diesel blend does not by itself supply the agricultural inputs, processing facilities or retail distribution needed for an ethanol blend in petrol. The government has identified upstream coordination with the agriculture ministry as a necessary part of its ethanol plans, but the information released on 3 November did not say that E20 had entered nationwide use.

Readers can compare what has already been implemented with future plans in the site’s biodiesel mandate timeline. The timeline concerns the diesel programme, not a new ethanol sales obligation.

Oil storage is a separate, unfinished project

The same meeting also covered crude-oil storage facilities planned for several areas of Sumatra. Bahlil described a goal of storage capacity sufficient to support up to 60 days of supply. ESDM said a feasibility study had been completed and that site visits were planned from late 2026, with safety and disaster risks among the considerations.

ANTARA quoted Bahlil distinguishing the need for storage of imported crude beyond 20 days from the longer-term objective of 60 days. The 60-day figure is a target for capacity, not a statement that the country already holds that many days of oil reserves. Storage construction, ethanol planning and continuation of B50 should not be treated as programmes that have all reached the same implementation stage.

The next test for the ethanol proposal will be publication of the detailed plan, evidence of feedstock readiness and any implementing rules. Until then, describing E20 or E50 as an already mandatory nationwide fuel would go beyond what the ministry and the minister disclosed after the meeting.