Pertamina Patra Niaga and Ministry of Cooperatives Launch Groundbreaking Used Cooking Oil Collection Pilot Program in Banyumas

JAKARTA — In a major leap forward for national energy independence and environmental sustainability, PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Cooperatives, has officially launched a pioneering pilot program for collecting Used Cooking Oil (UCO), commonly known as minyak jelantah.

The initiative kicked off on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at the Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (KDMP) in Dawuhan Village, Banyumas Regency, Central Java. This nationwide cooperative-based collection model aims to transform domestic waste into high-value, eco-friendly aviation and automotive fuels, bridging grassroots economic empowerment with cutting-edge green technology.

Main Facts of the Initiative

The pilot project positions local cooperatives as community collection hubs, aggregating used cooking oil from households and small businesses to serve as a sustainable feedstock for green fuels.

• Core Objective: Convert household and commercial kitchen waste into high-value feedstocks for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)—also known as bioavtur—and Green Gasoline.
• Pilot Location & Duration: The initial phase spans four months across four strategic cooperative locations in Banyumas Regency, Central Java.
• Collection Target: The program targets the aggregation of 500,000 liters of UCO during this initial four-month trial period.
• Processing Facilities: Collected UCO will be processed primarily at Pertamina’s Cilacap Refinery, with future expansion planned for refineries in Balongan, Dumai, and Plaju.
• Key Stakeholders: PT Pertamina Patra Niaga (subsidiary of state energy giant PT Pertamina (Persero)) and the Ministry of Cooperatives, utilizing the grassroots network of Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (KDMP).

Chronology of the Program Rollout

The genesis of this strategic partnership stems from months of planning aimed at aligning Indonesia’s energy transition targets with community-level economic welfare.

Phase 1: Conceptualization and Infrastructure Alignment (Mid-2026)

Recognizing the massive volume of untreated cooking oil discarded nationwide, Pertamina Patra Niaga sought a decentralized collection mechanism. Traditional waste-collection methods often proved inefficient due to fragmentation. The Ministry of Cooperatives identified the newly strengthened Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (KDMP) network as the ideal intermediary infrastructure, given its deep penetration into rural and semi-urban communities.

Phase 2: Official Launch in Banyumas (October 29, 2026)

On Thursday, October 29, 2026, top executives from Pertamina Patra Niaga, alongside senior officials from the Ministry of Cooperatives, gathered in Dawuhan Village, Banyumas, to inaugurate the pilot program. The choice of Banyumas served as a strategic starting point due to its active cooperative ecosystem and demographic balance.

Phase 3: The 4-Month Trial and Aggregation Phase (Late 2026 – Early 2027)

Running from October 2026 through early 2027, the pilot focuses on establishing operational standards, measuring household participation rates, and refining logistics between rural collection hubs and Pertamina’s refinery network in Cilacap.

Phase 4: National Scaling (Projected 2027 Onwards)

Following the evaluation of the four-month pilot in Banyumas, the initiative is slated for a phased rollout across KDMP networks nationwide, transforming localized waste collection into a robust national supply chain for green energy.

Supporting Data and Technical Architecture

The success of Indonesia’s transition to green energy heavily relies on feedstock security. Producing advanced biofuels like Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) requires a steady, high-volume supply of lipid-based waste materials, such as used cooking oil.

Refinery Integration

Pertamina Patra Niaga has systematically upgraded its refining capabilities to co-process renewable feedstocks alongside crude oil.

• Cilacap Refinery (Central Java): Serves as the primary processing hub for the current Banyumas pilot project. It utilizes co-processing technology to convert UCO into green fuels.
• Future Expansion Refineries: Balongan (West Java), Dumai (Riau), and Plaju (South Sumatra) are designated as the next wave of processing facilities to receive aggregated UCO as the program scales nationally.

The Economic Equation of Waste-to-Energy

Previously, much of Indonesia’s used cooking oil was either improperly discarded—clogging waterways and causing environmental degradation—or exported informally without maximizing domestic value addition. By routing UCO through cooperatives:

1. Households monetize a previously worthless kitchen byproduct.
2. Cooperatives generate non-core revenue streams, improving their financial viability.
3. The State secures a domestic feedstock for mandatory green fuel blends without compromising food security crops (such as palm oil used for conventional biodiesel).

Official Responses and Leadership Perspectives

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Mars Ega Legowo Putra, President Director of Pertamina Patra Niaga, emphasized the critical importance of supply chain certainty in green energy development.

"Pertamina Patra Niaga has prepared processing facilities to utilize used cooking oil as a raw material for environmentally friendly fuels. The Cilacap Refinery is one of the facilities prepared, and this capability will subsequently be developed at other refineries, including Balongan, Dumai, and Plaju. Therefore, certainty of feedstock supply is crucial to ensure this energy development can run sustainably," stated Mars Ega in a written statement on Thursday (29/10/2026).

Mars Ega further elaborated on how the integration of the KDMP network democratizes the energy transition, allowing everyday citizens to play a direct role in national decarbonization.

"Through cooperatives, we want to build a more organized and sustainable collection system. The community gains added value from the used cooking oil they collect, while industry secures a reliable supply of raw materials to develop eco-friendly fuels. Thus, economic and environmental benefits can go hand in hand," he explained.

Echoing these sentiments, Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono welcomed the collaboration, highlighting its alignment with rural development and circular economy principles.

"We warmly welcome this collaboration with Pertamina Patra Niaga because KDMPs can play a broader role in driving community economic activity. Used cooking oil, which has often gone to waste, can now be collected through cooperatives and assigned economic value, thus providing benefits to the community while supporting national energy development efforts," said Ferry.

Looking forward, Minister Ferry outlined ambitious plans to integrate the entire national cooperative infrastructure into Pertamina’s green supply chain.

"The Ministry of Cooperatives is ready to support the strengthening of KDMP roles throughout Indonesia as partner suppliers of used cooking oil to Pertamina. We hope this cooperation can expand further, supporting the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) or bioavtur, while opening up new economic opportunities for the public and future export potentials," Ferry concluded.

Implications for Economy, Environment, and Energy Security

The launch of the UCO collection pilot program carries profound implications across multiple sectors of Indonesia’s economy and environmental landscape.

1. Advancing Indonesia’s Net Zero Roadmap

Indonesia has committed to aggressive carbon emission reduction targets under its Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (ENDC) and aims to achieve Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2060 or sooner. Aviation and maritime sectors are notoriously difficult to decarbonize due to high energy density requirements. By leveraging UCO to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Pertamina Patra Niaga is directly addressing hard-to-abate sectors, enabling international and domestic airlines operating in Indonesia to lower their carbon footprints in compliance with global CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) mandates.

2. Strengthening National Energy Independence

Relying on imported fossil fuels exposes Indonesia’s trade balance to global geopolitical shocks and currency fluctuations. By tapping into domestic waste streams—turning everyday kitchen runoff into high-grade fuel—Pertamina reinforces domestic energy resilience. The circular economy model ensures that the energy consumed by airplanes and vehicles is partially sourced from within the country’s own borders, utilizing local labor and cooperative networks.

3. Grassroots Economic Empowerment and Financial Inclusion

The involvement of Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih transforms rural and suburban cooperatives from passive administrative units into active commercial hubs. By introducing a cash-for-waste mechanism, local families are incentivized to practice responsible waste management. This generates incremental household income, which can be particularly impactful for lower-income rural communities. Furthermore, the administrative handling fees earned by cooperatives strengthen their institutional balance sheets, enabling them to offer better savings and loan programs or retail services to their members.

4. Environmental Protection and Public Health

Improper disposal of cooking oil—such as pouring it down kitchen sinks or dumping it into open drains—poses severe environmental risks. It coats aquatic ecosystems, suffocates marine life, and clogs municipal sewage systems. By formalizing collection channels, this program significantly mitigates water pollution and protects local sanitation infrastructure, creating cleaner, healthier living conditions in Indonesian villages and urban kampungs alike.

Conclusion

The partnership between PT Pertamina Patra Niaga and the Ministry of Cooperatives in Banyumas marks a vital milestone in Indonesia’s green transition. By fusing state-backed industrial refining capacity with grassroots cooperative logistics, the initiative successfully transforms an environmental nuisance into a strategic economic asset. As the four-month pilot in Banyumas progresses toward a nationwide rollout, it stands as a shining example of how inclusive, community-driven sustainability can simultaneously drive economic prosperity, environmental preservation, and national energy sovereignty.