Bahlil prepared to implement President's directive to convert coal into petrol

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, stated that he is prepared to implement the directives of President Prabowo Subianto to convert coal into petrol.

“As the Minister of ESDM, we will follow up on every order and directive from the President regarding optimisation in order to increase energy security by utilising domestic energy sources,” Bahlil said when met during a blood donation event organised by the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal in Jakarta on Monday.

Bahlil noted that President Prabowo’s directive to produce gas or oil from coal stems from considerations regarding uncertain geopolitical conditions. The President’s instruction, he added, is to optimise all existing energy potential within Indonesia.

“One of these is alternative energy from coal. The technology is now advanced, where low-calorie coal can produce both gas and oil,” said Baltil.

The use of coal to produce oil has already been implemented in several countries. The Director General of Mineral and Coal at the Ministry of ESDM, Tri Winarno, mentioned that East Germany once utilised coal-to-liquid technology to process the ‘black gold’ into oil.

Tri continued, noting that the oil produced from coal was subsequently used as fuel for tanks. “Furthermore, we can look at South Africa. During the Apartheid era, they faced sanctions from other nations, so they utilised coal liquefaction through Sasol (a South African energy and chemical company) which continues to this day, producing approximately 300,000 barrels per day. So, the technology for converting coal into petrol does indeed exist,” said Tri.

Nevertheless, he added that they are currently evaluating technological cooperation and Indonesia’s coal potential for oil production. “Several aspects are currently being evaluated,” Tri said.

President Prabowo Subianto emphasised the importance of food and energy independence as the foundation for Indonesia to stand on its own strength and not depend on other nations, during a thanksgiving reception for the 100th anniversary of Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor in Ponorogo, East Java, on Saturday (19/9).

In his speech, Prabowo mentioned plans to produce petrol from coal, following the successful production of diesel from palm oil. “We have successfully produced diesel from palm oil and can also produce petrol from palm oil. And, we will also eventually produce petrol from coal,” said Prabowo.