Indonesia Still Imports 1 Million Barrels of Fuel as B50 Rollout Accelerates

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The government is accelerating the implementation of B50 amid high national fuel imports, which remain around 1 million barrels per day. The move comes as domestic oil production has yet to keep up with domestic energy needs.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said Indonesia’s fuel consumption currently stands at around 1.6 million barrels per day. Meanwhile, national oil lifting in 2025 was in the order of 600,000 barrels per day.

“This means, in calculation terms, we can determine that we need to import 1 million barrels per day,” Bahlil said at the IPA Convex 2026 event at ICE BSD, on Wednesday (20 May 2026).

He said the target for oil lifting in the 2026 State Budget is set at 610,000 barrels per day, but current production is still below that target.

Bahlil said the government has been implementing the B40 programme and will accelerate the rollout of B50 starting on 1 July 2026.

“From the 1 million barrels per day that we have to import, it should be converted or substituted by using B40, and now we will push B50 from July 1,” he said.

According to Bahlil, the policy can convert around 200,000 to 300,000 barrels per day through the use of crude palm oil (CPO). As a result, fuel imports could be reduced to about 600,000 to 700,000 barrels per day.

He also said Indonesia will no longer import certain diesel in 2026, except for high-quality diesel such as C51.

Bahlil said Indonesia’s LPG imports this year reached around 8.6 million metric tons. In addition, demand for feedstock for the petrochemical industry continues to rise.

He cited the need for additional industrial feedstock in Cilegon estimated at around 3 million tons to support the petrochemical sector.

“We are short of naphtha. We brought some from America yesterday,” he said.

According to Bahlil, the need for this industrial feedstock is the reason the government continues to push investment and exploration in the upstream oil and gas sector.

Therefore, the government targets national oil lifting to reach 900,000 to 1 million barrels per day in 2029-2030.

To achieve this target, the government asks Contract Work Cooperation (K3S) contractors to promptly implement oil and gas projects that have secured development approvals or plans of development (PODs).

“If there are any problems, please inform us,” said Bahlil.