Bahlil Explains Reasons for Indonesia's Oil Imports from Russia

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia stated that the plan to import crude oil from Russia aims to strengthen national energy resilience through supply diversification. The government, he said, does not want to rely on a single country amid global geopolitical uncertainties.

In addition, Bahlil emphasised that Indonesia continues to maintain trade relations with various countries, including the United States. He assessed that purchasing oil from Russia would not disrupt ongoing cooperation.

“In an uncertain geopolitical position, we cannot expect only one country. So there must be diversification,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources office on Friday, 17 April 2026.

The oil import plan is a follow-up to President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Moscow. During that trip, Prabowo met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on 13 April 2026 and discussed energy cooperation, including crude oil supplies.

Besides crude oil, the government is also considering options to import liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Russia. Bahlil explained that national LPG needs reach around 8.6 million tonnes per year, while domestic production is only about 2 million tonnes. This gap makes imports an unavoidable step.

LPG needs are estimated to continue increasing with the operation of new petrochemical facilities, including the Lotte Chemical plant, which requires around 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per year.

This situation prompts the government to seek additional supplies from various sources. However, Bahlil has not detailed the import volumes for crude oil or LPG from Russia.

He stressed that prices will follow market mechanisms and the results of negotiations between the two countries. On the other hand, the government is also exploring investment opportunities for building oil refineries and storage facilities jointly with Russia in Indonesia.

However, discussions on that cooperation still require several rounds of further negotiations before reaching a final agreement. “The finalisation awaits one or two more rounds with us, specifically regarding the refinery and storage. Then we will announce it,” said Bahlil Lahadalia.