Russia Ready to Supply Oil and Build Refinery in Indonesia
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has announced that Russia is ready to supply oil to Indonesia. Furthermore, according to Bahlil, Russia has also expressed willingness to cooperate in building energy infrastructure in the country.
The General Chairman of Golkar Party conveyed that this step is the result of his meeting with the Russian Energy Minister and President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy in Moscow a few days ago. The meeting took place after President Prabowo Subianto met Putin in the Russian capital.
Bahlil then reported the results of his negotiations to Prabowo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday, 16 April 2026. “The news is, alhamdulillah, quite encouraging, that we will receive crude oil supplies from Russia,” Bahlil said after meeting Prabowo.
Indonesia, he stated, is still facing an oil supply deficit and must import. Bahlil noted that national fuel oil consumption is around 1.6 million barrels per day, while domestic oil lifting ranges from 600,000 to 610,000 barrels per day.
This means Indonesia is still short by about one million barrels of oil per day. “In the current global situation, we must seek sources from various countries,” said the former investment minister.
In addition to crude oil, the government is also exploring liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) import cooperation with Russia. Bahlil said Indonesia currently imports around seven million tonnes of LPG per year.
According to him, Indonesia needs to diversify its supply sources to reduce dependence on a single country. However, Bahlil noted that LPG cooperation with Russia still requires two to three further stages of communication.
Bahlil revealed that the government is also exploring cooperation to build an oil refinery in Indonesia with Russia. “That was one of the points we discussed yesterday, that there are indeed some of their investments ready to enter,” he said.
However, he stated that the agreement is not yet final. “The finalisation awaits one or two more rounds with us, specifically regarding the refinery and storage. We will announce it later,” Bahlil said.
The crude oil import agreement from Russia is part of the outcomes from President Prabowo’s visit to Moscow, Russia. Prabowo met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, 13 April 2026, at the Kremlin Palace.
After the meeting with Putin, Prabowo tasked Bahlil to discuss the details of the cooperation with the Russian government. “President Prabowo tasked the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia to meet President Putin’s special envoy and the Russian Energy Minister for further detailed discussions in Moscow,” said Teddy in a written statement on Wednesday, 15 April 2026.