Bahlil Opens Opportunities for Oil and Gas Imports from Brunei and Russia

Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has stated that the government is opening options to import oil from various countries, including Brunei Darussalam and Russia. He said this measure is an effort to diversify energy supply sources amid geopolitical uncertainty caused by escalating Iran-Israel conflict in the Middle East.

By doing so, Bahlil said dependence on a single country or region could be avoided. “All countries are possible. What is important for us now is how the goods are available, and secondly at competitive prices. That is what matters most,” he said at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources office in Jakarta on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

According to Bahlil, the opportunity to import from Russia has opened following the United States’ decision to resume purchasing oil from the country. Previously, such access was restricted due to sanctions.

Besides Russia, the government is exploring energy cooperation with Brunei Darussalam. He said Brunei has the potential to supply C3 and C4 gases that can be processed into liquefied petroleum gas raw materials.

The government, he said, is exploring two options: absorbing supplies from Brunei or building its liquefied petroleum gas industry there with Indonesia as the primary market. “We can take what they have or we can build an LPG industry there for the purpose of supplying Indonesia,” he said.