Indonesia’s Pertamina produces low-sulphur marine fuel to meet IMO 2020 rules

Indonesia’s state energy company PT Pertamina has started production of low-sulphur marine fuel as the country aims to comply with International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules starting January 2020, it said in a statement.

Pertamina will soon send its first shipment of the marine fuel – 7,000 kilolitres or 44,028 barrels – from its Plaju refinery to its Balikpapan supply point, the company said.

Indonesia in August said it will comply with the new low-sulphur fuel rules that start on Jan. 1, 2020, after previously saying it needed more time to adjust to the rules.

Under International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules that come into effect in 2020, ships will have to use fuel with a maximum 0.5% sulphur content, down from 3.5% now, unless they are equipped with scrubbers to remove the sulphur from the vessel’s emissions.
Source: Reuters