Indonesia unveils biodiesel to curb fossil fuel imports

JAKARTA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) — Indonesia has launched a new biodiesel fuel with a 50 percent blend, known as B-50, produced by palm oil agroindustry company PT Jhonlin Agro Raya based in South Kalimantan province.
The B-50 biodiesel was tested during the launch event in the vehicle of Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman.
“We expect that the deployment of B-50 biodiesel and the use of alternative biofuels will continue to expand, reducing crude oil and fuel oil imports,” said the minister on Sunday.
In addition to providing an alternative to fossil fuels, the use of B-50 biodiesel has the potential to lower state expenditure on diesel imports by around 400 trillion rupiah (25.65 billion U.S. dollars) per year, according to the minister. ■