Prabowo Instructs Bahlil to Prepare Roadmap for 50% Bioethanol Fuel Blend
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlability Lahadalia, has revealed several strategic directives from President Prabowo Subianto following a plenary meeting with members of the National Energy Council (DEN) at the Merdeka Palace on Thursday (17/09/2026).
One of the Head of State’s primary instructions is to request relevant agencies to immediately prepare concrete steps to develop a 50% bioethanol fuel blend, known as E50, in Indonesia. “Learning from this, the President has ordered the immediate formulation of steps for us to build E50,” Bahlil stated after the meeting.
The implementation of E50 is expected to significantly reduce fuel import figures, following the success of previous mandatory biodiesel policies. However, Bahlil has not yet specified a precise timeline for the programme’s execution.
He revealed that national fuel consumption remains at a very high level. Diesel consumption is recorded at approximately 39 million kilolitres per year, while gasoline requirements range between 39 and 40 million kilolitres per year. Therefore, the development of E50 is viewed as a crucial step to strengthen domestic energy resilience and availability. “This is a form of encouraging domestic fuel availability,” said Bahlil.
In addition to bioethanol, President Prabowo provided several other important directives, including efforts to boost national crude oil production through massive exploration activities and the optimisation of existing resources. The government will encourage large-scale exploration across various basins and potential oil and gas blocks throughout the country.
“In addition, we will also encourage massive exploration of basins, oil blocks, and the optimisation of existing wells,” he said.
This optimisation effort will be supported by modern technological interventions in ageing oil wells to increase productivity. Beyond conventional wells, President Prabowo also gave special attention to community-operated oil wells (sumur rakyat).
“This includes the President’s order to monitor the 45,000 community wells, which must be managed professionally,” Bahlil emphasised. According to him, the management of community wells must henceforth comply with applicable laws and regulations. The government strictly prohibits any violations, including the sale of production to unauthorised parties through unofficial mechanisms.
During the same session, the plenary meeting also discussed the national level of readiness in anticipating global geopolitical dynamics. The President instructed that national fuel reserves must always be maintained at a safe level for a minimum period of 18 to 20 days ahead.
“So, everything is, alhamdulillah, clear,” Bahlil concluded.