Minister Bahlil proposes ASEAN build oil storage hub in Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia has proposed that Indonesia serve as the location for building an oil reserve storage hub for ASEAN countries. “We will build storage anywhere, but yesterday I offered it to be in Indonesia,” Bahlil stated when met at the Ministry of ESDM office in Jakarta on Monday. As of now, there is no agreement on where the ASEAN regional storage hub will be built. Bahlil explained that to realise this proposal, Indonesia will collaborate with Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines. Through the construction of this storage hub, Bahlil conveyed that ASEAN will have a substantial energy reserve to supply countries in Southeast Asia. “In Southeast Asia, we yesterday formulated the idea to create a hub for oil reserve storage for ASEAN. This is a good idea,” Bahlil said. This statement relates to the results of Bahlil’s visit to the Philippines. He accompanied President Prabowo Subianto to discuss strategic energy sector issues at the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, Philippines, on 7–8 May 2026. During this visit, President Prabowo, along with Heads of State from ASEAN member countries, discussed various regional strategic agendas, including strengthening cooperation and ASEAN energy resilience. As part of this agenda, Bahlil accompanied the President in all meetings discussing strategic energy sector issues that are of common concern to ASEAN countries. In addition to the storage hub construction, cross-border electricity interconnections in the region and energy diversification were also discussed. The meeting aims to ensure energy resilience in the ASEAN region through efforts in energy diversification, which is one of the keys to addressing the global energy crisis currently underway.