TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero) together with state officials are currently analyzing the development of a new type of energy that will replace Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG). Pertamina Deputy Chairman Ahmad Bambang, said that the energy utilizes low-calorie coal.
"We're currently analyzing low-calorie coal to transform it to Dimetil Eter (DME)," Ahmad said on Tuesday, January 17, 2017.
Ahmad hoped that later in the future, the chemical compound can be used for household consumption.
Ahmad added that the conversion is needed in order to fulfill domestic consumption of LPG. Ahmad said that Indonesia's LPG consumption increases by 13 percent in average every year. In 2016, LPG consumption reached 7 million metric ton, a number 700 percent higher compared to the last nine years.
According to Bambang, the production of C3 and C4 type gas, which served as the main components to produce LPG, has steadily declined. Production is currently dominated by C1 gas that has a lighter mass and low carbon levels.
VINDRY FLORENTIN
