Jakarta: Indonesia is preparing to restart the Bayas Biofuels plant in Riau province after four years of inactivity to strengthen supplies of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), a key component used in biodiesel production, Tempo reported.
Agrinas Palma Nusantara and Pertamina Power Indonesia have agreed to work together to reactivate the facility in Indragiri Hilir Regency. The plant has an installed production capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year.
Agrinas Palma Business Director Nurhidayat said the company hoped the agreement would be followed by concrete steps to restart operations.
The facility belongs to Monterado Mas, a subsidiary of Duta Palma Group, which is owned by businessman Surya Darmadi. The government has assigned Agrinas Palma to manage assets seized in corruption cases, including those linked to the group.
The proposed revival is aimed at increasing FAME supplies as Indonesia advances its B50 biodiesel programme, which requires a blend containing 50% FAME.
According to Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the B50 mandate requires around 19 million kilolitres of FAME, compared with 17 million kilolitres for B45. The government had allocated 15.6 million kilolitres of biodiesel for the B40 programme in 2025.
Indonesia’s biodiesel industry has a combined installed capacity of around 22 million tonnes. However, actual production stands at 16.7 million tonnes, with the potential to increase to 18 million tonnes.
Biodiesel plants operate at an average of 80% of their installed capacity, partly because production disruptions and maintenance requirements affect output. Restarting the Bayas facility could therefore add to the country’s available FAME production capacity and support the government’s higher blending target.
