Pertamina's Used Cooking Oil to SAF Push: Analyst Praise Comes With Supply Chain Caveats

Indonesian energy analyst Feiral Rizky Batubara backed Pertamina's plan to turn used cooking oil into sustainable aviation fuel, but the praise is conditional. He says the program's real value depends on building domestic collection, traceability, quality standards, and incentives from kitchen to refinery. Without that, the low-carbon fuel claim weakens and Indonesia risks relying on imported feedstock. Pertamina signed a May 2026 pact with Indonesia's National Nutrition Agency to collect used cooking oil from facilities serving roughly 61.99 million people, feeding SAF, HVO, and biogasoline production. A ministerial decree sets a 1 to 5 percent SAF blending target by 2030. The conversion technology is mature, but reverse logistics for scattered kitchen oil remain the bottleneck, and no public data yet shows actual UCO volumes or SAF output.