BEC Targets Coal Downstreaming to Reduce Methanol Imports
“Our main target from the outset has indeed been to substitute methanol imports.”
Jakarta (ANTARA) - PT Bumi Etam Chemical (BEC) is targeting its coal downstreaming-to-methanol project as a means of reducing methanol imports, demand for which is rising due to the B50 biodiesel programme.
“Our main target from the outset has indeed been to substitute methanol imports,” said BEC President Director Rio Supin when met after the signing of the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract and EPCC Framework Agreement in Jakarta on Wednesday.
BEC is a joint venture between PT Arutmin Indonesia (Arutmin) and PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC), together with PT Istana Karang Laut (IKL) and China National Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. (CNCEC).
The coal gasification-to-methanol project in East Kutai, East Kalimantan, is targeted to produce 2 million tonnes of methanol per year. Going forward, he said, Arutmin and KPC are committed to developing the project in stages until it can produce 3.6 million tonnes of methanol.
The background to the project is Indonesia’s methanol requirement of 1.9 million tonnes in 2025.
“Of which 68 per cent, or around 1.3 million tonnes, is currently imported. In 2025, in terms of foreign exchange, Indonesia spent 400 million US dollars per year on methanol imports, equivalent to Rp7.1 trillion,” said Rio.
For 2026, Rio added, amid uncertain geopolitical conditions in the Middle East, methanol prices have risen significantly, which has in turn affected foreign exchange spending on methanol imports.
“This is what underpinned our choice of methanol over other products that could be produced from this coal gasification process,” said Rio.
He is targeting the coal-to-methanol downstreaming project to enter the trial phase in 2029, before commencing commercial operations in 2030.
“With this project, we can certainly save foreign exchange, and in this case we can help reduce Indonesia’s deficit,” said Rio.
At the launch of the Mandatory B50 Biodiesel Programme at the Km 57 Rest Area on the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road in Karawang Regency, West Java, on Thursday (9/7), Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia said the government would build methanol industries in East Java and East Kalimantan to meet the requirements of the B50 biodiesel programme.
“We need the methanol just for B50 — that is around 2.5 million tonnes per year. So, the next step is that we are pushing to build the methanol industry as soon as possible,” said Bahlil.
Beyond increasing methanol demand, the B50 programme also raises the requirement for FAME from 14.9 million kilolitres under B40 to 16.7-18 million kilolitres under B50, and increases crude palm oil (CPO) demand from 13.6 million tonnes under B40 to 15.2-16.3 million tonnes under B50.