Pertamina signs UCO-supply agreement for Cilacap biorefinery in Indonesia

Photo: KPI

Pertamina announced Dec. 17 that its subsidiary PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI) signed of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PT Gapura Mas Lestari (GML) for the supply of used cooking oil (UCO) feedstock to produce renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the Cilacap refinery in Indonesia.

The refinery is currently able to produce renewable diesel from refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm oil, “while SAF is 2.4 percent from RBD palm kernel oil or from processed palm kernels,” the company stated.

This ability was part of Phase 1 of the company’s Green Refinery project for the complex.

Phase 2 involves increasing processing capacity to 6,000 barrels per day, or approximately 80 million to 85 million gallons per year, and expanding the range of feedstocks to include UCO.  

Last year, the company said Phase 2 is targeted to be onstream by 2026.

KPI selected Topsoe’s HydroFlex™ process technology for renewable diesel and SAF manufacturing at the Cilacap refinery.

KPI said GML has been collecting UCO in Indonesia and exporting it for more than 20 years.

“The collaboration between KPI and PT GML with experience in the supply chain from collection to UCO supply is expected to support and guarantee the supply of feedstock for the Cilacap Green Refinery project," said Taufik Aditiyawarman, KPI’s president director.

Fadjar Djoko Santoso, Pertamina’s vice president of corporate communications, said the company continues to develop renewable energy by utilizing energy sources available domestically.

“One of them is through the processing of UCO at Pertamina refineries,” Fadjar said. “This is an innovation from Pertamina to produce sustainable and more efficient fuel.”

KPI stated that the signing of this MOU is an important step to strengthen collaboration between the public and private sectors in achieving Indonesia’s sustainable energy goals.

In addition to Cilacap, the company’s much larger Green Refinery project in Plaju, Indonesia, scaled at 20,000 barrels (840,000 gallons) per day, to produce renewable diesel, SAF and bionaphtha is scheduled for completion in 2027.