Vulnerable: Indonesia Has No Energy Buffer Reserves At All

Jakarta — Komaidi Notonegoro, Executive Director of the ReforMiner Institute, said Indonesia’s energy resilience remains relatively vulnerable. To date, the country does not have an adequate energy buffer reserve or Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as found in more advanced nations.

Notonegoro noted that, generally, countries worldwide maintain energy buffer stocks on the order of three to six months. Some developed nations even hold larger stockpiles.

‘On average, between three and six months of energy reserves or SPR. If you go to more advanced countries they have even larger stockpiles,’ Notonegoro told CNBC Indonesia, quoted on Friday (6 March 2026).

He added that each country faces different conditions, so the ideal size of an energy reserve is not the same everywhere. In addition to considering potential energy crises, the government must also consider the budgetary capacity.

For example, the cost of storing petroleum products is very high. For a stock of BBM (fuel) for one day alone, the budget allocation would be around Rp2.5 trillion to Rp3 trillion.

That means if Indonesia wanted to hold energy reserves for 30 days, the cost could reach around Rp60 trillion to Rp90 trillion.

Notonegoro then disclosed that Indonesia currently only has BBM reserves for about 20 to 25 days. However, those reserves are not state-owned, but are operational stocks of business entities — inventory that remains unsold.

‘And for business entities, it is difficult to leave money tied up for a long period. Usually there is turnover — goods come in slowly and go out quickly,’ he said.

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