"The use of FAME (fatty acid methyl ester) reached 44 percent of the quota," Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Archandra Tahar remarked in Jakarta on Monday.
The government has targeted the allocation of FAME as biodiesel to reach 6.2 million kiloliters this year.
"The achievement is 97.4 percent of the target," he pointed out.
The 97.4 percent achievement during the January-July 2019 period suggested that realization of the B20 mandatory program still fell short of the targeted 100 percent, he explained.
The mandatory program is part of the government's steps to create a mix of 20 percent vegetable oil and 80 percent petroleum diesel compulsory. The program, introduced in 2016, is aimed at reducing the trade deficit and oil imports as well as saving foreign exchange earnings.
Initially, B20 was used only for subsidized diesel oil for land transportation. The use of B20 was later expanded to all types of diesel oil used for all work sectors as of September 2018.
"Looking at the MoPS (Means of Platt Singapore) price for diesel oil multiplied by 97 percent distribution of FAME, we managed to save an estimated US$1.66 billion during the January-July 2019 period," he stated.
To ensure optimal utilization of B20, the government will strive to encourage the transportation and industrial sectors to optimally use environmentally friendly fuel, he added.
