Bahlil Signals Imminent Rise in Pertamax Prices

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia has signalled that the government will raise the prices of non-subsidised fuels, such as the Pertamax series. This follows discussions with stakeholders that are nearly complete.

“We just need to see when the adjustment will be made. My feeling is, based on our meetings with Pertamina and private businesses, it’s almost done,” Bahlil said when met at the Ministry of ESDM office in Central Jakarta on Friday (17/4/2026).

Bahlil explained that the price adjustment is in line with Ministerial Decree (Kepmen) ESDM Number 245.K/MG.01/MEM.M/2022, which amends Kepmen Number 62 K/12/MEM/2020, and refers to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 11 of 2022 on the Calculation of Retail Selling Prices for Fuels.

The decree regulates the Basic Price Formula in the Calculation of Retail Selling Prices for General Fuel Types, including Petrol and Diesel Distributed Through Public Fuel Filling Stations. “In accordance with the 2022 Minister of ESDM Regulation, non-subsidised fuels are based on market prices,” Bahlil stated.

Pertamina, along with private businesses managing public fuel filling stations (SPBU) such as Shell, Vivo, and BP, have held non-subsidised fuel prices steady since early April 2026. However, global oil prices have surged due to military strikes by the United States (US) and Israel against Iran.

The current global oil prices for Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) are in the range of 90-100 USD per barrel. This is higher compared to the average oil price in January 2026, which for Brent (ICE) was 64 USD per barrel.