Video: PNRE's Ambition to Convert Palm Waste into Biometanol, Production in 2027

In efforts to support Indonesia’s accelerated energy transition towards Net Zero Emissions by 2060, Pertamina New & Renewable Energy (Pertamina NRE) continues to develop biometanol in Indonesia. Recently, Pertamina NRE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore’s CRecTech Pte. Ltd. for the development of a pilot facility to convert biogas into biometanol at the Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone in North Sumatra. Pertamina NRE’s President Director, John Anis, stated that this step is part of the strategy to reach the vast biometanol market by utilising the large availability of plantation waste from the crude palm oil industry, in the form of Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME). This initiative not only processes industrial waste but also develops green energy that can support national energy security. Currently, laboratory research has been conducted, and preparations are underway for pilot production trials of biometanol using POME generated by PNRE’s biogas power plants (PLTBg) in Sei Mangkei. PNRE targets that by the end of 2026 or early 2027, biometanol from POME can be produced at around 50 tonnes per year. For more details on PNRE’s biometanol development plans, watch the dialogue between Syarifah Rahma and Pertamina NRE President Director John Anis on Squawk Box, CNBC Indonesia (Tuesday, 21/04/2026).