Indonesian Crude Oil Prices Strengthen in February Amid Global Market Turbulence
The Indonesian government has set the average price of Indonesian crude oil (Indonesian Crude Price/ICP) for February 2026 at $68.79 USD per barrel. This figure rose $4.38 compared to January 2026, which recorded $64.41 USD per barrel.
The ICP determination is contained in a Ministerial Decree of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Number 115.K/MG.03/MEM.M/2026 regarding the crude oil price for February 2026. The increase in Indonesian oil prices occurred amidst dynamic global energy market conditions, influenced by geopolitical risks and shifts in supply balance.
Laode Sulaiman, Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, explained that the ICP increase was triggered by several factors developing in the international oil market. “The ICP increase in February 2026 was influenced by various factors in the global oil market, including rising geopolitical risks that could potentially disrupt world oil supply. Geopolitical tensions triggered policy responses and military activities in strategic regions, including military exercises in the Middle East maritime area that could affect global energy distribution routes,” Laode said in Jakarta, quoted on Wednesday (11 March 2026).
He detailed that geopolitical developments also shaped sentiment in the international energy market. This condition created concerns about the stability of global oil distribution.
Attacks on several energy facilities in Russia further reinforced market concerns about potential disruptions to global oil supply. These events added pressure to the balance of the international energy market.
Laode explained that crude oil price dynamics were influenced not only by geopolitical factors. Changes in global supply conditions also affected the movement of crude oil prices.
“Reports from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show a decline in global oil production in early 2026, including reduced production from OPEC+ countries. This situation contributed to increasingly tight oil supply balance in the global market,” he said.
Declining US oil product stocks also signalled rising energy consumption. Increased economic activity drove energy demand and also boosted oil prices in the international market.
The movement of the oil market in the Asia-Pacific region also influenced global price dynamics. Oil refining activity in Singapore increased at the end of February 2026.
Singapore’s crude throughput was recorded as rising approximately 1 per cent monthly to 89 per cent of total capacity of 1.12 million barrels per day. This increase reflected growing refinery activity at the region’s energy trading hub.
Additionally, China was reported to have increased its strategic oil reserves to 1 million barrels. This policy also tightened crude oil market fundamentals from the perspective of supply and demand.
The average movements of major crude oil prices in February 2026 compared to January 2026 increased as follows:
Indonesian ICP rose $4.38 per barrel from $64.41 to $68.79 per barrel.
Brent (ICE) rose $4.64 per barrel from $64.73 to $69.37 per barrel.
WTI (Nymex) rose $4.26 per barrel from $60.26 to $64.52 per barrel.
Dated Brent rose $4.35 per barrel from $66.80 to $71.15 per barrel.
OPEC Basket rose $5.48 per barrel from $62.31 per barrel (as of 30 January 2026) to $67.79 per barrel (as of 26 February 2026).