Hormuz Strait Closed, Indonesia to Buy Crude Oil from the United States
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia says the government is preparing for the worst-case scenario if the current conflict in the Middle East cannot be resolved, noting that Indonesia’s crude supply from the region accounts for 20-25%. ‘Let us say this is slow; the scenario is that now we are taking some of the crude from the Middle East and diverting it to the United States to secure our crude supply,’ Bahlil said at a press conference at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) in Jakarta on Tuesday, 3 March 2026.
Bahlil said that crude supply besides the Middle East comes from various countries in Africa, Brazil, and the United States. Because of the war between the United States and Israel with Iran, the government is diverting part of the supply from the Middle East to the United States, taking into account the possibility that the Hormuz Strait, a global trade route, is closed until an undetermined time. ‘Our confidence after conducting studies is that we cannot predict when it will end,’ he said.
According to Bahlil, imports of fuel with a Research Octane Number or RON of 90, 92, 95, and 98 are purchased from Southeast Asian countries and from outside the Middle East, to protect against supply disruptions. Diesel stocks are considered secure because there will be no more imports this year. For Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Bahlil said imports total 7.3 million metric tonnes per year and this year rise to 7.8 million metric tonnes. This year, about 70 percent of imports are from the United States and 30 percent from the Middle East, such as Aramco, the Saudi oil and gas company.
Because the region of the Saudi refinery is affected by the conflict, the government is redirecting supply. ‘The alternative is that we redirect spending to countries not connected to the Hormuz Strait,’ he said.
The war between the United States and Israel and Iran broke out on the preceding Saturday. The two blocs have been exchanging retaliatory strikes against defence systems and various other targets.