TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia explained the purpose of replacing Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) with Dimethyl Ether (DME) in the community in the near future. According to him, this plan will save the country up to Rp 20 trillion per year.
“Because the price of DME is not as big as LPG,” Bahlil said at the Berita Satu Economic Outlook 2022 event on Tuesday, November 23, 2021.
Bahlil explained that Indonesia imports 5.5 million tons of LPG per year. The price of LPG in the world market is US$ 850 per tonne and the government issues subsidies of around Rp. 60 to 70 trillion per year.
For this reason, he said, the government will prepare DME which is a product of downstream low-calorie coal to replace LPG. The price is lower at US$ 650 to 700 per tonne. “So we can achieve efficiency of Rp 20 trillion per year,” he said.
Previously, this plan was submitted by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif. According to him, the government is targeting Indonesia to no longer import liquefied natural gas by 2030 in line with the development of coal gasification.
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