Prabowo Aims to Transform Coal into Fuel, Bahlil Explains

President Prabowo Subianto is encouraging the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) to optimise domestic energy potential, including the development of low-calorific coal into fuel in the form of gas.

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, explained that this directive follows the current state of global geopolitical uncertainty. According to him, the government intends to reduce dependence on energy imports by utilising available domestic resources.

“So, what President Prabowo conveyed regarding the production of gas or oil through coal stems from the thought that, in uncertain geopolitical conditions, the President’s instruction to us is to optimise all existing energy potential in Indonesia,” Bahlil said in Jakarta on Monday (21/09/2026).

Bahlil mentioned that one of the potentials that can be developed to reduce energy import dependency is through the use of coal as an alternative energy source. Current technological advancements now allow low-calorific coal to be processed into gas or oil.

“The technology is now advanced enough that low-calorific coal can produce both gas and oil,” he said.

Furthermore, he noted that similar technologies have been developed in several countries, including China. In fact, several companies have already offered cooperation to the Indonesian government to develop such technology.

“We know that our potential for low-calorific coal is very vast. This is likely what the President intends. Therefore, as the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, we will follow up on every instruction from the President regarding optimisation to increase energy security by using domestic energy sources. The goal is so that we no longer need to import, and our foreign exchange reserves can remain within the country,” he added.