Indonesia pushes coal-to-DME downstreaming investment

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia has said President Joko Widodo instructed ministers to extensively pursue investment in coal-to-dimethyl ether (DME) downstreaming.

Speaking to the press on March 7, Lahadalia said, at the Government’s meeting the same day, Widodo instructed the optimisation of low-calorie coal to become DME for domestic use.

He explained that the efforts for such downstreaming were a part of measures to reduce the dependency on imported products, specifically in terms of meeting the liquified petroleum gas (LPG) demand.

The meeting also discussed the recent developments in the coal-to-DME downstreaming project carried out by PT Bukit Asam, PT Pertamina, and Air Products and Chemicals in Muara Enim district in South Sumatra, he informed.

On January 24, 2022,  Widodo announced that the project for the development of coal-to-DME downstreaming in Muara Enim, South Sumatra, had officially started.

Domestic demand for LPG is valued at 100 trillion rupiah (6.5 billion USD). Of that, 80 trillion rupiah worth of LPG is imported./.