Following B50 Success, Prabowo Instructs Bahlil to Develop 50% Ethanol Blend (E50)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, has received instructions from President Prabowo Subianto to prepare the development of a 50% ethanol-gasoline blend (E50). This directive was delivered during the first plenary session of the National Energy Council (DEN) for 2026, which addressed national energy availability amidst global geopolitical dynamics.
The government notes that current national fuel reserves stand at approximately 18 to 20 days. The development of E50 is designed as a long-term strategy following the successful implementation of the 50% biodiesel (B50) programme for diesel fuel.
Bahlil revealed that the B50 programme, based on a mixture of CPO and methanol, has successfully halted the import of specific CN 48 diesel. A similar scheme is now being prepared for E50, as national gasoline consumption volumes are nearly equivalent to diesel consumption.
“Learning from this, the President has ordered us to immediately formulate similar steps to build E50. We know that our annual diesel consumption is approximately 39 million kilolitres, and gasoline is nearly the same, around 39 to 40 million,” he stated following the National Energy Council Plenary Meeting with President Prabowo Subianto at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, as reported on Friday (18/9/2026).
In addition to promoting plant-based fuels, the government is strengthening energy supplies by increasing upstream oil and gas production. These steps include the exploration of new oil basins and blocks, the application of technology to ageing wells, and the regulation of community-operated oil wells.
Bahlil emphasised that the management of 45,000 community wells will be directly monitored to ensure professional management and to prevent any illegal diversion of production results.
“We will also encourage large-scale exploration of basins and oil blocks, and the optimisation of existing wells. We will intervene in our old wells using technology; furthermore, the President has ordered the monitoring of those 45,000 community wells to ensure they are managed professionally and that there are no violations or sales to unauthorised parties,” he concluded.
Previously, during a simultaneous harvest event with the TNI in Malang, East Java, on Friday (17/7/2026), President Prabowo Subianto expressed his intention to accelerate the development of the bioethanol industry. To realise this, the government requires the construction of dozens of new bioethanol factories.
“We need factories; currently, we only have one factory. I have decided that we must build at least 30 factories, perhaps even up to 50 factories,” he said.
Prabowo then compared the development of bioethanol usage in several countries. According to him, India has implemented E20, while Brazil has even utilised E100, or fuel based on pure ethanol.