Indonesia Energy Ministry: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Encourages Bio-CNG to Substitute for LPG

The Directorate General of New, Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources encourages the development of biogas into Biomethane-Compressed Natural Gas (Bio-CNG) on a commercial scale as transportation fuel and functions as a substitute for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for industry. The development of Bio-CNG is expected to accelerate the increase in the contribution of new and renewable energy (EBT) in the national energy mix.

Director of Bioenergy at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Andriah Feby Misna, said that Bio-CNG is a purification of biogas (pure methene) by separating the components of carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbontetraoxide (CO4) and removing other imperfect gas components to produce methane gas with levels above 95%. “The characteristics of this biomethane are similar to CNG,” said Feby at the Bioshare Series #2 webinar on Biogas Utilization for the Non-Electricity Sector in Indonesia, Thursday (8/7).

According to Feby, as a country producing crude palm oil (CPO) and natural resources, Indonesia has great potential to utilize CPO waste, agricultural and livestock waste into biogas and biomethane. “The benefits (Bio-CNG) are quite significant because currently Indonesia is still importing LPG in large quantities and the sources of raw materials for producing Bio-CNG are quite diverse,” he explained.

In encouraging the development of bio-CNG, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources together with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) has conducted a market study for its development in Central Kalimantan and East Kalimantan. The study will soon be followed up with technical assistance to prepare for the implementation of bio-CNG development. “Although we have a large enough potential for bio-CNG, we have not yet been able to develop it commercially. There are many challenges that are our common task, both in terms of economic, technical and commercial policies,” said Feby.

Coordinator of Bioenergy Engineering and Environment, Efendi Manurung explained that the development of Bio-CNG is more focused on technology transfer and encourages the involvement of researchers and technology activists to innovate in biogas development.

“For now, the Bio-CNG infrastructure is relatively non-existent, not yet implemented, but we are still in the coordination stage to encourage, facilitate, and prepare regulations related to accelerating the implementation of the use of Bio CNG”, said Efendi.

In the future, if infrastructure is needed for the implementation of Bio CNG, there is an opportunity to do so. The construction of a gas network (jargas), an infrastructure program carried out by the Directorate General of Oil and Gas, is not impossible to build for Bio CNG, if it is urgent or it is necessary to facilitate the implementation of Bio CNG for household needs.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian CNG Companies (APCNGI) Dian Kuncoro revealed that investment in distribution and infrastructure for the use of CNG requires a higher investment cost compared to LPG. This is due to the different characteristics of the two.

For example, CNG has a much higher pressure than LPG, so transporting it to customers (industry) requires a stronger tube material. This has an impact on the cost from the material side to be more expensive to around USD10 – USD13 per MMBTU. “What is the cost of biogas to produce gas, which has not been made into bio-CNG? Can it be USD6-USD7 MMBTU? This (processing fee) must have a competitive value with piped gas prices,” concluded Dian.