Pertamina Pursues 'Dual Growth Strategy' to Reduce Fuel Import Dependence

PT Pertamina (Persero), Indonesia's state-owned oil company, is seriously committed to maintaining national energy security. Efforts to reduce import dependence are being carried out simultaneously with the acceleration of energy transition. Corporate Secretary of Pertamina, Arya Dwi Paramita, revealed that a portion of the national energy needs, including for the supply of oil fuel (BBM) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), still needs to be met through imports. "We have been importing for a very long time, 20 years. This means our consumption is higher than national production. That's where we need to bring in oil and gas supplies from other countries to meet domestic needs," said Arya in a discussion at IdeaFest 2026 at JCC Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday (4/9/2026). One of Pertamina's strategies to reduce dependence on fossil energy and imports is by undertaking an energy transition, without neglecting the current availability of energy supply for the public. "As an energy company, Pertamina is carrying out a dual growth strategy. To meet current needs, we must maintain production security so that the public continues to get BBM. On the other hand, we are also building pillars of environmentally friendly energy," he explained. Arya elaborated that the development of clean energy being worked on includes the geothermal sector for electricity sources, solar panels, and bio-aviation fuel or Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). "So, to meet needs, we continue to operate existing energy from fossil sources, while continuously developing environmentally friendly energy," Arya emphasized. As a concrete form of energy transition, Pertamina has utilized used cooking oil (UCO) as raw material for aircraft fuel. This environmentally friendly fuel has been recognized by the aviation industry and is confirmed to be safe for use. Arya conveyed that in Pertamina's hands, used cooking oil does not merely end up as waste but is processed into bio-aviation fuel or SAF. "It turns out that used cooking oil, which we often consider unusable, can actually be collected," said Arya. He explained that the collected used cooking oil is then processed at Pertamina's Cilacap refinery and mixed with other supporting raw materials to produce SAF. "We make this oil into aircraft fuel. But don't worry, it's safe because research was initiated in 2015, then rigorously studied and tested from 2021 to 2025," he revealed. Arya added that Pelita Air Service, an airline owned by a subsidiary of Pertamina, has even tested direct flights on the Jakarta–Bali route using SAF derived from used cooking oil. "For those who like to fly Pelita Air Service, when we conducted test flights to Bali, we already used SAF," explained Arya. Arya asserted that this innovation in utilizing used cooking oil is not without reason, but rather to realize national energy self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on energy imports. "So, what is the main goal? Why do we have to do this? Because we have to reduce dependence on energy imports. This is actually a collective movement for us," concluded Arya. Read the latest and most trusted news at Berita Liputan6