Pertamina explores using used cooking oil from Free Nutritious Meal programme to produce SAF

Cilacap, Central Java (ANTARA) - Pertamina, through its Cilacap Refinery Unit IV, is exploring the utilisation of used cooking oil (UCO) resulting from the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) programme and the Merah Putih Village Cooperative (KDMP) to be processed into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

“UCO will be collected from the Nutrition Fulfilment Service Units (SPPG) and the KDMP,” said Hermawan Budiantoro, Executive General Manager of Pertamina Patra Niaga Cilacap Refinery, during a national media briefing in Cilacap, Central Java, on Thursday.

According to him, the collection of used cooking oil from SPPG and KDMP represents a business-to-business (B2B) scheme to meet the stock requirements of UCO, which is processed into eco-friendly aviation fuel.

In addition to the MBG programme and village cooperatives, used cooking oil is also collected from hotels, restaurants, cafes, and other suppliers, including the Indonesian Cooking Oil Waste Entrepreneurs Association (Gapulimgi).

In his presentation, he noted that the Gapulimgi association holds significant potential for UCO supply, with an estimated range of 240,000 to 300,000 tonnes per year.

Beyond the B2B scheme, the company is also employing a business-to-consumer (B2C) approach by collecting used cooking oil supplied by households and local communities.

Regarding the purchase price for UCO through the B2C scheme, he continued, it reaches Rp6,000 per litre, whereas the price through the B2B scheme is expected to be higher.

The first production of SAF in Indonesia is scheduled for July–August 2025, following a series of commercial flight trials in September 2023 using a Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-800.

Those trials involved mixing 2.4 per cent refined, bleached, and deodorised palm kernel oil (RBDPKO). The company aims to increase the SAF content to reach 3 per cent.

SAF has also achieved International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) and is being used by domestic airlines such as Garuda Indonesia and Pelita Air, as well as several foreign airlines, to meet the requirements at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta and Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali.