Pertamina Speaks on Fate of Non-Subsidised Fuel Prices Amid Iran–US Conflict
Jakarta – PT Pertamina (Persero) corporate communications vice president Muhammad Baron addressed the potential impact of rising global crude prices driven by the Iran–US war on Indonesia’s non-subsidised fuel prices. He explained that Pertamina is monitoring global oil price dynamics before making further decisions on non-subsidised fuel prices. ‘For the tariffs of fuels going forward, we are still processing and watching developments,’ Baron said at Grha Pertamina, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday 3 March 2026.
He said that Middle East crude cargoes currently account for around 19 percent of total crude oil imports into Indonesia. According to him, Pertamina has prepared distribution schemes through normal, alternative, and emergency channels to safeguard national energy security. Baron added that procurement strategy and the possibility of adjusting supply sources are still in process while upholding good governance.
‘At present, for energy supply we are implementing several strategies that are indeed in process, both through existing patterns and also we see that governance must be prioritised,’ he said.
It is known that previously the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, confirmed that subsidised fuel prices like Pertalite will not rise, even though world oil prices surged as a result of the Iran–US–Israel conflict. ‘If the subsidised fuel price, i.e. Pertalite petrol, is to rise—as world oil prices rise—that price will stay the same prior to any government change,’ Bahlil said in a press conference at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Jakarta, Tuesday 3 March 2026.
Meanwhile, for non-subsidised fuels such as Pertamax, Bahlil admitted there will indeed be price adjustments or increases in line with fluctuations in world crude oil prices. Bahlil stated that oil prices have risen to around USD 78–80 per barrel, exceeding the macro APBN 2026 assumption of USD 70 per barrel. As a country that imports around 1 million barrels per day, the rise in world oil prices will naturally burden the APBN with the potential for higher energy subsidies funded by the government.