Indonesia has streamlined its import requirements for lubricant base stocks, which may boost the government’s call for more investment into the country’s lubricant industry.
Under a recent regulation revision, importation of such fluids no longer requires the technical approval letter known as Pertek from the country’s Ministry of Industry. However, other requirements – such as business license documents and others – remain in place.
The Pertek requirement for importing base stocks was enacted just last year. Pertek forms are meant to document the technical feasibility of and activity, business or development, but local finished lubricant manufacturers have complained about the amount of time it takes to complete them.
According to state-owned news agency, Antara, Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan said that the revision of the regulation will help to remove obstacles for the importation of industrial raw materials.
As officials call for more investment into the lubricant industry, the streamlining of the importation process may give those efforts a boost. In March this year, Emmy Suryandari, director of downstream chemical and pharmaceutical industry for the Ministry of Industry, asked for more investment for lubricant plants outside the main island of Indonesia, Java. She said there are 52 lubricant companies registered in the national industrial information system, with a combined installed capacity of around 2 million kiloliters per year and production of around 1.2 million kiloliters per year.
Arif Sulistiyo, director of imports at the Ministry of Trade, explained that the policy was carried out because his party received input from an association of lubricant producers that it was difficult to get Pertek’s approved by the Ministry of Industry.
Indonesia’s lubricant demand is expected to grow to 1.3 billion liters per year by 2026, with automotive lube formulations continuing to shift from conventional formulations to semi-synthetic and synthetic products, a Pertamina official told the ICIS Asian Base Oils and Lubricants Conference last year.