Indonesia to Import 150 Million Barrels of Russian Oil, This is the Government's Strategy

Indonesia plans to purchase around 150 million barrels of crude oil from Russia to fulfil its energy requirements until the end of 2026. Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Yuliot Tanjung explained that the government is currently finalising the implementation scheme for the imports. This includes options for assigning the task to state-owned enterprises or through a public service agency scheme. Regulations are being prepared to ensure the procurement process aligns with financing needs, distribution routes, and inter-country cooperation mechanisms. “The commitment to import oil from Russia was negotiated and agreed upon yesterday, with a total of around 150 million barrels to meet our needs until the end of the year,” said Yuliot in Jakarta on Friday (24/4/2026). He explained that the realisation of the imports cannot be done all at once due to limitations in domestic oil storage capacity. The government opts for a phased approach while accelerating procurement readiness. Yuliot added that the energy import commitment extends not only to crude oil but also to LPG. The government remains open to supplies from various countries, including the United States, to maintain national energy resilience. “What we need to emphasise are our two import commitments. The first is crude, the second is LPG,” he stated. According to him, the government is also considering the implications of using the state-owned enterprise scheme, which requires a tender process, unlike the more flexible government-to-government (G2G) cooperation mechanism. “If through state-owned enterprises, it must go through a tender first, whereas this is a G2G scheme. That’s the consequence I mean,” Yuliot clarified. He stated that the Russian oil supply will be used for various domestic needs, from fuel to petrochemical industries and mining activities. “As long as it’s for domestic needs, we can distribute it for petrochemical raw materials, which are also required,” he said. The government continues to rely on imports from the United States. Currently, around 60 percent of Indonesia’s LPG imports come from that country, with total annual needs reaching about 7 million tonnes. “For LPG, our total imports are around 7 million tonnes, of which about 60 percent already come from the US,” said Yuliot.