KBRN, Jakarta: State-owned oil company PT Pertamina, through its subsidiary PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional (KPI), has just conducted the first shipment of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made from used cooking oil (UCO) at the Refinery Unit IV Cilacap, Central Java. This step also marks progress in clean energy technology in Indonesia by utilizing waste cooking oil as a renewable energy source.

Deputy President Director of PT Pertamina, Oki Muraza, said this step signifies advancement in clean energy processing technology in Indonesia by harnessing vegetable oil resources and used cooking oil waste.

“We will continue to increase co-processing capacity at refineries, including Dumai and Balongan, so Indonesia is ready to become a regional hub for environmentally friendly fuels,” said Oki at a press conference following the ceremonial first shipment of 32 kiloliters of SAF at the Patra Graha building in Cilacap on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, as quoted by antaranews.com.

However, the production of SAF from used cooking oil faces particular challenges, especially concerning the large-scale availability of raw materials. The effective and sustainable collection of used cooking oil remains a major obstacle.

This challenge arises due to the uneven distribution of used cooking oil and the absence of an efficient collection system from various sources such as households, restaurants, and hotels. In addition, public education is still needed to raise awareness about the importance of collecting used cooking oil as a raw material for energy and to dispel concerns that collected waste oil might be misused.

PT Pertamina Patra Niaga President Director Mars Legowo Putra said that Pertamina, through PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, has initiated two methods of collecting used cooking oil. These methods are retail collection through 25 public gas stations (SPBU) designated as collection points, and wholesale collection through collector associations.

Furthermore, there is great potential to develop a national movement for collecting used cooking oil by utilizing more than 6,000 SPBUs and thousands of Pertashop outlets distributed throughout Indonesia as collection points. “Currently, we have approximately 6,700 SPBUs and 6,000 Pertashops. We can maximize these as points to collect used cooking oil,” he said.

Regarding production capacity, the Cilacap refinery can produce around 1,200 kiloliters of SAF per day with a blend of about 3 percent used cooking oil as raw material. Although the proportion of used cooking oil in SAF is still limited, experience in bio-solar development provides optimism. Currently, bio-solar development has reached 40-50 percent, suggesting potential for increasing the share of renewable fuels in the future.

Meanwhile, President Director of PT Pelita Air Service, Dendy Kurniawan, said that Pelita Air Service will be the first airline to use SAF for commercial flights on August 20, 2025, on the Jakarta-Denpasar route. “The use of SAF will significantly reduce carbon emissions, and we will campaign to passengers that they are contributing to a better Earth,” he said. *** Source: