Indonesia's Karimun Oil Terminal Caught in EU Sanctions, ESDM Responds
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has responded to reports that the Karimun Oil Terminal in the Riau Islands is caught up in European Union sanctions, allegedly for facilitating activities of Russia’s shadow tanker fleet.
The Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of ESDM, Laode Sulaiman, emphasised that the terminal’s operations are continuing normally and are not significantly impacted by the issue.
“Looking at the specific impacts related to that, everything is running,” said Laode when met at the Ministry of ESDM on Monday evening (4/5/2026).
In fact, according to him, the Karimun fuel terminal even has strategic potential to be strengthened in the future, particularly in terms of storage capacity that can still be increased.
“Because there is still space there for us to add storage capacity,” he stated.
Therefore, he assured that despite the emerging sanctions issue, all development plans and operations for the terminal remain on track. Moreover, this issue is not new.
“There have been issues before. We’re just on track. We are also a free and active country politically. So we carry out cooperation interests with various countries. Not just one country,” he said.
As is known, the European Union has officially added the Karimun Oil Terminal in Indonesia to the list of its latest sanctions against the Russian Federation.
This is outlined in the 20th sanctions package by EU Member States against Russia, released by the European Union on 23 April 2026.
Here are the details:
Energy Sector
36 new entities from Russia’s energy sector have been added to the sanctions list, covering activities from exploration, extraction, refining, to oil transportation.
The European Union has added new entities to Russia’s shadow fleet network, including companies in third countries, one major maritime insurance company, and 46 additional ships. The total number of ships on the list now reaches 632, which are subject to port access bans and services. However, 11 ships were also removed from the list for returning to compliance.
Due diligence obligations have been imposed on sellers in the European Union, as well as “no to Russia” clauses in sales contracts to prevent ships from being used in illegal networks. Rules for ship scrapping have also been introduced to reduce the shadow fleet.
Two Russian ports, Murmansk and Tuapse, have been added to the sanctions list, along with one port in a third country, namely the Karimun Oil Terminal in Indonesia, due to involvement in evading oil price caps and Russia’s shadow fleet.
The European Union is preparing a legal basis to ban the transportation of Russian oil in the future, in cooperation with the G7 and Price Cap Coalition.
Provision of maintenance services for Russian LNG ships and icebreakers is prohibited.
European Union operators are permitted to terminate long-term contracts with Russian parties.
Financial Sector
An additional 20 Russian banks are prohibited from doing business with European Union operators. The total number of affected banks now reaches 70.
Four banks in Kyrgyzstan, Laos, and Azerbaijan are subject to transaction bans for helping Russia evade sanctions.
A full ban on transactions with Russian crypto service providers has been imposed, including decentralised platforms.
The use of RUBx stablecoin and digital rouble is prohibited due to their potential use in evading sanctions.
Cooperation with agents facilitating Russia’s international transactions to evade sanctions is banned.
Five financial entities from third countries have been removed from the list after providing compliance commitments.
Trade Sector
Goods worth more than €365 million, from rubber to tractors, are banned from export to Russia.
Restrictions on military technology, including explosives, laboratory equipment, and high-performance lubricants.
Provision of cybersecurity services to Russia is limited.
Metals, chemicals, and minerals worth more than €530 million are subject to import bans.
An import quota for ammonia has been set to cap incoming volumes.
Russian Military Industry
58 companies and individuals involved in military production, including drones, are subject to sanctions.
Global suppliers are targeted, including entities from China, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus that supply dual-use goods.
Anti-Sanctions Evasion
The European Union is cracking down on Kyrgyzstan for failing to prevent re-export of goods such as machinery and telecommunications equipment to Russia used in drone and missile production.
Addition of 60 entities, consisting of 32 in Russia and 28 in third countries such as China, Turkey, UAE, and Thailand.
Additional Sanctions
- 120 new entities and individuals, including 33 individuals and 83 entities, are subject to asset freezes and travel bans. Targets include oligarchs, perpetrators of child abductions in Ukraine, propagandists, and those plundering cultural heritage.
Legal Protection for EU Companies
Courts in member states can now impose fines on Russian parties filing abusive lawsuits.
EU companies can seek compensation for adverse legal decisions in third countries.
A ban on transactions with parties assisting in enforcing such decisions has been imposed.
Sanctions also target Russian parties exploiting unlawful takeovers of EU company assets.
Additional Measures
“Mirror” sites of media such as Russia Today and Sputnik will be blocked in the European Union.
Acceptance of funding from the Russian government in research and innovation is prohibited.
Extension to Belarus
This package also mirrors a number of sanctions against Russia into the sanctions regime against Belarus, particularly in trade, finance, services, and legal protection.