Lemigas Poised to Import Russian Oil
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has opened the possibility for the Central Oil and Gas Testing Agency (BBPMGB Lemigas) to import oil, including from Russia. This opportunity arose following the issuance of Presidential Regulation No. 26 of 2026.
Presidential Regulation No. 26 of 2026 governs the procurement of crude oil, petroleum products, and/or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for national energy security. ‘Therefore, under this regulation, Lemigas can undertake imports,’ said Deputy Minister of ESDM Yuliot Tanjung, as reported by Antara on Friday, 29 May 2026.
Yuliot explained that, in addition to existing imports by state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the regulation now permits Energy Sector Public Service Agencies (BLUs) to import crude oil, petroleum products, and LPG. Pertamina has traditionally been the SOE handling energy commodity imports.
The regulation is detailed in Article 4 of Presidential Regulation No. 26 of 2026. Subsection (3) states that BLUs in the energy sector must conduct imports in accordance with cooperation agreements.
BLUs may import based on cooperation agreements, whether intergovernmental or between the central government and foreign suppliers. ‘We will optimise the use of existing BLUs, including Lemigas. Thus, procurement through Lemigas,’ Yuliot said.
However, Presidential Regulation No. 26 of 2026 also allows BLUs to import outside intergovernmental or central government-foreign supplier agreements to meet energy buffer and operational reserves, as stipulated in Articles 4(6) and 4(7).
Furthermore, Article 5 of the regulation permits BLUs and Pertamina to undertake urgent imports despite price variations based on volume, product type, country of origin, and delivery timing, in line with purchase contract agreements.
Such urgent situations must be declared by the minister responsible for oil and gas affairs, i.e., the ESDM Minister.
Director General of Oil and Gas at the ESDM, Laode Sulaeman, stated the government must prepare additional regulations and import schemes as Russian crude oil requires special handling.
Pertamina, as the energy-focused SOE, operates using global bonds. Therefore, it must avoid actions that could breach these bonds.
Pertamina’s global bond commitments necessitate the ESDM finding an optimal import scheme for Russian oil. This forms part of fulfilling a commitment to import 150 million barrels from Russia by end-2026, following President Prabowo Subianto’s recent visit to Russia.