Indonesia opens oil import options from all countries including Russia
Jakarta — Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia has affirmed that Indonesia is opening opportunities to import oil from various countries, including Russia, as part of an energy source diversification strategy amid geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East region.
According to Bahlil, the government does not restrict import sources to a single country. “All countries are possible. What matters to us now is how goods are available, and secondly, the price is competitive. That is the most important thing,” he said at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry office in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He explained that importing oil from Russia is now possible after the United States reopened access to purchasing oil from the country, which was previously subject to sanctions.
Besides Russia, Bahlil said Indonesia is also exploring cooperation with Brunei Darussalam. In a bilateral meeting with Brunei’s Deputy Prime Minister, the government discussed opportunities for technology transfer and energy cooperation.
Bahlil added that Brunei has potential supplies of C3 and C4 gases that can be utilised as raw materials for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). “We could either take theirs or we could build an LPG industry there with the objective of supplying Indonesia,” he said.
The conflict between the United States–Israel and Iran in the Middle East region has prompted Indonesia to seek alternative sources for oil imports outside the region.
The government is beginning to shift a portion of crude oil imports from the Middle East to the United States and other countries. This step is taken to safeguard national energy resilience and stability.
Indonesia has thus far imported crude oil from the Middle East, which accounts for 20–25 per cent of total imports.
Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Yuliot Tanjung previously stated that the plan to redirect energy imports from outside the Middle East region remains in the negotiation phase.
He mentioned that one of the countries being explored is the United States through communications already established within the framework of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) between Indonesia and the US.
“We will increase imports from America. From there we can look at major oil operators such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron that operate globally. We hope they can supply our fuel needs, whether in the form of crude oil or finished fuel products,” he said in Bandung on Monday (16 March).
Nevertheless, Yuliot emphasised that the energy import plan is still being negotiated and no agreement has been reached, either with the US or with other potential supplier countries.