Jakarta – Indonesia prefers implementation of ‘clean technology’ over coal phase-out, officials said recently. National Energy Council (DEN) member Satya Widya Yudha, said production of rich gas or wet natural gas could be the government’s solution in reducing dependence on imports of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and will gradually stop LPG imports until 2030.
Yudha said, “Indonesia has chosen not to phase out fossil energy by implementing clean technology … (and) considering the application of technology in the form of carbon capture, utilisation and storage or CCS/CCUS,” as quoted by Antaranews last week, adding that CCS/CCUS the economic value was still expensive because it was a new technology.
“Production of rich gas will be intensified this year. This rich gas production will reach 500 thousand tons per year,” said Yudha at the Public Discussion on the Coal Gasification Economics quoted on Tuesday (12/4).
In addition, he said, the government will increase LPG production from oil refineries and develop dimethyl ether (DME) and methanol obtained from the coal gasification process from mining operations owned by state-owned companies and private businesses. Yudha said that the government will do all it can to suppress the need for LPG imports.
He said the government would add 1.1 million tons to the city gas network servicing 10 million households, encourage the use of electric stoves, and produce 500 thousand tons of rich gas per year. According to Yudha, encouraging the use of electric stoves can also be a solution to reduce LPG imports.
By taking these steps to reduce imported gas, Indonesia can save a budget of USD 4 billion per year from 2021 to 2040. This will certainly have an impact on the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN). Yudha detailed that by 2030 Indonesia will need 9.7 million tons of LPG. Without imports, the demand will be met from 1.2 million tons of existing LPG production, 1.1 million tons from the city gas network, 2.1 million electric stoves, 0.5 million tons of rich gas, 1.8 million tons of LPG from refineries, and 3 million tons from DME and methanol production. (Hartatik)
