Indonesia lifts gasoline spec to 90 RON minimum

Indonesia will raise the minimum octane rating of gasoline sold in the country to 90 RON from January 2023.

Asia's biggest importer of gasoline will only allow the fuel to be sold with a minimum octane rating of 90 RON from the start of next year, its downstream regulator said Wednesday.

"The standard and quality (specification) of 88-octane gasoline which is marketed domestically has been declared invalid as of January 1, 2023," committee member of the Downstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency (BPH Migas), Saleh Abdurrahma, told local media Wednesday.

The 89-octane gasoline is currently sold in Indonesia by PT Vivo Energi Indonesia under the trade name Revvo 89, according to Indonesia's national business newspaper Bisnis.

The 88-octane gasoline is sold by PT Pertamina under the trade name BBM Premium.

The Research Octane Number (RON) measures a fuel's ability to withstand compression without detonating, or "knocking."

Higher octane gasolines are more efficient, so can reduce the environmental impact of a petrol engine. 

There are also likely to be fewer harmful pollutants in higher octane gasoline, as there is less room for giveaway when blending.