Outcome of Prabowo's Visit, ESDM: Russia Willing to Supply Oil-LPG to Indonesia

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has revealed the outcomes of bilateral discussions between Indonesia and Russia. As is known, President Prabowo Subianto, along with several ministers including ESDM Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (13/4/2026). The Director General of Oil and Gas (Dirjen Migas) of the Ministry of ESDM, Laode Sulaeman, stated that positive signals from Russia were received regarding energy cooperation, including supplies of crude oil and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to Indonesia. “So now the team in Russia is preparing the technical aspects. What the scheme will be like. We haven’t reached the volume yet. But at least Russia is willing to cooperate on crude, fuel, LPG—that’s already good,” he said when met at the RI House of Representatives Building, Jakarta, on Wednesday (15/4/2026). This cooperation is planned to be long-term to ensure domestic energy availability. The crude oil supply from Russia is projected to be processed directly into fuel at domestic refineries, thereby increasing added value and energy independence. “Yes, what was announced yesterday was crude and LPG, just those two. The fuel hasn’t been mentioned yet, but that’s important. The crude will be processed into fuel. Correct, that’s the essence,” Laode continued. In addition to fuel supplies, the government is also exploring opportunities for cooperation in building energy storage facilities, one of which is in Karimun, Riau Islands. “Karimun is an international storage there. And there are slots that can still be built for storage. So those slots are what we might utilise for adding that storage,” he said. Thus, the government ensures that the infrastructure development in Karimun is not a leasing scheme, but rather the construction of new storage facilities. This step is taken in line with the government’s efforts to diversify supply sources and supporting energy infrastructure from various countries. Previously, ESDM Minister Bahlil Lahadalia met face-to-face with Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev on Tuesday (15/4/2026). This meeting was a follow-up to the high-level talks between President Prabowo and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin the day before. In that forum, both parties discussed concrete opportunities for energy cooperation that can be immediately followed up, particularly the certainty of crude oil and LPG supplies. Russia expressed readiness to support Indonesia’s energy resilience, including supplies of oil and natural gas and storage. The meeting was also attended by representatives of several Russian energy companies, such as Rosneft, Ruschem, Zarubezhneft, and Lukoil. “Today I have just finished a bilateral meeting with the Russian Energy Minister to follow up on the agreement from the talks between President Prabowo and President Putin. Alhamdulillah, what has been agreed upon, we have obtained quite good results where we can add to our crude reserves. In addition, we will also be able to obtain LPG,” said Bahlil, quoting his press release on Wednesday (15/4/2026). Bahlil emphasised that the cooperation is being explored through government-to-government (G2G) or business-to-business (B2B) schemes, which are expected to provide certainty for national energy reserves, particularly for crude oil and LPG in Indonesia. On the other hand, Bahlil conveyed that Indonesia is open to expanding the scope of collaboration with Russia, including the development of crude storage, long-term supplies of crude oil and LPG, nuclear exploration, and cooperation in the mineral sector. “We want all of this to truly provide certainty for national energy resilience,” he stressed. Bahlil assessed that the meeting outcomes give positive signals for strengthening national energy resilience amid uncertain global dynamics. He views the partnership with Russia as an important option, given the country’s large energy production capacity and experience in the oil and gas industry. “Once again, I feel pleased today because of Mr President Prabowo’s directive to follow up thoroughly. And alhamdulillah, once again I say that insya Allah we can get good results,” Bahlil explained.