Bahlil States Russian Oil Shipments to Indonesia to Begin This Month
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia has stated that imports of crude oil from Russia will begin to be realised this month.
The shipment is a follow-up to the results of the bilateral meeting between President Prabowo Subianto and Russian President Vladimir Putin a few days ago.
“If it’s for crude, it might be possible this month, God willing,” Bahlil said when met at the Ministry of ESDM in Jakarta on Friday (17/4/2026).
In addition to crude oil, Indonesia will also purchase liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Russia.
“LPG is still in the finalisation stage. The sooner the shipment, the better,” he said.
Regarding the value of the oil purchase from Russia, Bahlil stated that the price is dynamic.
He assured that the price will refer to international market movements and depend on the results of negotiations between the Indonesian government and Russia.
“The price will definitely be dynamic. The price will adjust to the market price and depend on our negotiations,” he said.
Nevertheless, Bahlil has not disclosed in detail the volume of crude oil to be imported.
He emphasised that the government’s primary priority is to ensure the availability of domestic energy supplies remains secure.
“I can’t explain about the volume. The important thing is that as the government, on the instructions of the President, I must ensure that all our needs, including crude, are available and we must seek to ensure the interests of the people are served,” he explained.
Previously, while accompanying President Prabowo Subianto’s working visit to Russia, Bahlil revealed that it was agreed that Indonesia would receive supplies of crude oil and LPG from Russia.
Russia has expressed readiness to support Indonesia’s energy resilience, including supplies of oil and natural gas as well as storage.
“Alhamdulillah, what has been agreed upon has yielded quite good results, where we can obtain crude reserves to add to ours. In addition, we will also be able to obtain LPG,” Bahlil said, quoted from an official statement on Tuesday (14/4/2026).
The cooperation on procuring oil and LPG is being explored through government-to-government (G2G) or business-to-business (B2B) schemes. This scheme is expected to provide certainty for the availability of national energy reserves, particularly for crude oil and LPG in Indonesia.
In addition, Indonesia is open to expanding the scope of collaboration with Russia, including the development of crude storage, long-term supplies of crude oil and LPG, nuclear exploration, and cooperation in the mineral sector.
“We want all of this to truly provide certainty for national energy resilience,” Bahlil said.