Pertamina NRE Explores Biometanol Opportunities from Palm Oil Waste
Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (Pertamina NRE) is exploring the development of a biometanol business from biogas through a collaboration with Singapore-based clean technology company CRecTech Pte. Ltd. This step is marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding to investigate the construction of a pilot facility for converting biogas into biometanol in the Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone (KEK), Sumatra.
The collaboration forms part of Pertamina NRE’s efforts to expand its green energy portfolio based on domestic resources. Biogas processed from palm oil waste is considered to have significant potential as a high-value green fuel, while also opening opportunities for Indonesia to deepen its integration into the global clean energy supply chain.
CEO of Pertamina NRE, John Anis, stated that the collaboration represents a concrete step by the company to accelerate the utilisation of biogas into higher-value energy products. According to him, the development potential is substantial, supported by market demand and the availability of domestic raw materials.
“This collaboration is a concrete step by Pertamina NRE in accelerating the utilisation of biogas into high-value-added products such as biometanol,” said John in an official statement on Wednesday (8/4/2026).
He explained that one of Indonesia’s main strengths lies in the availability of palm oil waste, which has not yet been optimally utilised. This raw material is seen as a crucial foundation for building a competitive and sustainable green fuel value chain.
Pertamina NRE and CRecTech will begin this collaboration through a joint study to evaluate the feasibility of developing the pilot facility in KEK Sei Mangkei. If the study results show promising prospects, the collaboration will proceed with the implementation of CRecTech’s CRecREF™ catalytic technology on the Sei Mangkei Biogas Power Plant (PLTBg).
John conveyed that Pertamina NRE does not want this initiative to stop at the initial stage. The company is targeting opportunities to scale up biogas to biometanol development to larger commercial levels.
“Going forward, we hope this initiative does not stop at the pilot stage but can soon be scaled up to a larger commercial level,” he said.
CRecTech is a Singapore-based clean technology company that develops technology for converting carbon-based gases into high-value chemicals and fuels. In this project, the company brings catalytic technology designed to process low-quality biogas streams directly at the production site.
CEO of CRecTech, Kang Hui Lim, explained that this technological approach enables the conversion process without the need for investments as large as those for conventional methanol plants. According to him, this opens up opportunities to utilise biogas that has not yet been fully processed into high-value commercial products.
“The biogas potential in Indonesia is very large, and Pertamina NRE is the right partner to transform that resource advantage into a commercially valuable biometanol supply,” clarified Kang Hui Lim.
The development of this business is also seen as aligned with the global shift in energy needs, particularly in the shipping sector, which is transitioning from conventional fuels to low-carbon alternatives. Biometanol is viewed as having opportunities to enter as part of the decarbonisation solutions for the maritime sector, which is now moving towards more environmentally friendly fuels.
Domestically, the biogas supply potential primarily comes from processing liquid waste from palm oil mills or Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME). Pertamina NRE has identified several locations in its portfolio with large-scale raw material availability, including Sei Mangkei.
The development of the biogas to biometanol value chain is expected to propel KEK Sei Mangkei as one of Indonesia’s green fuel production centres. This step is also seen as having the potential to deliver economic impacts through job creation, increased investment, and the optimisation of renewable energy utilisation domestically.