Prabowo Launches B50 Biodiesel, Bahlil: No More Need for Diesel Imports

President Prabowo Subianto launched the B50 Biodiesel programme on Thursday, 9 July 2026. The B50 programme mandates a 50 percent blend of palm oil biodiesel into diesel fuel sold in Indonesia. Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia said this policy will reduce Indonesia’s dependence on diesel imports. “With the implementation of B50, alhamdulillah, we will no longer import diesel products into our country,” Bahlil said during the B50 programme launch event with President Prabowo in Karawang, West Java, on Thursday, 9 July 2026. According to Bahlil, average diesel consumption in Indonesia is 38-40 million kilolitres per year. To meet this need, Indonesia has still been importing around 3-4 million kilolitres of diesel annually. Bahlil stated that blending 50 percent palm oil biodiesel into fuel will reduce the need for pure diesel in Indonesia. Through the expansion of the B50 programme, he conveyed that domestic production volume is now considered capable of meeting all domestic market needs independently. The General Chairman of the Golkar Party said the government had conducted B50 Biodiesel trials for six months before launching it to the public. The government tested it on six diesel engine user sectors: automotive, agricultural tools and machinery, mining heavy equipment, marine transport, power generation, and railways. The legal basis for the B50 Biodiesel Mandatory Programme is Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 4 of 2025 concerning the Business and Utilisation of Biofuels. In addition, there is also Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Decree Number 257.K/EK.01/MEM.E/2026 of 2026 concerning the Obligation to Blend 50 Percent Biodiesel in Diesel Fuel. The policy requires a 50 percent biodiesel blend for all types of diesel fuel. In its implementation, biofuel business entities, fuel business entities, and distributor business entities are required to apply standards and quality according to established specifications. Fuel business entities that do not fulfil the blending obligation, or biofuel business entities that do not distribute biodiesel according to the 50 percent implementation target, may be subject to administrative sanctions in the form of written warnings, temporary suspension of activities, and/or revocation of business licences in accordance with statutory provisions. To support the implementation transition, fuel business entities are given a transition period until 30 September 2026 to deplete biodiesel stocks with B40 blending specifications. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources will also conduct periodic evaluations of the B50 implementation every three months.