Indonesia plans crude storage to bypass third-country import stops
A Public Service Agency will oversee construction with private-sector partners as the government changes how it buys energy supplies.
New storage facilities planned in Indonesia would enable imported crude to arrive directly rather than pass through other countries, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said in an October 26 statement.
Construction would be overseen by a Public Service Agency (BLU) working alongside several private-sector partners. Bahlil said the planned facilities were intended to bolster energy security as geopolitical tensions intensified in the Middle East.
The project accompanies a wider restructuring of energy procurement. Under a new presidential regulation, a Public Service Agency takes responsibility for purchasing fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and crude oil through arrangements between governments and between government and businesses.
President Prabowo Subianto has ordered preparations for potential supply disruptions, including worst-case situations. The government says Indonesia's imported crude no longer comes from the Middle East, although the country remains dependent on imports.
Bahlil intends to travel to countries including India and China in pursuit of more assured supplies and long-term purchasing agreements. He also sought to reassure Indonesians, saying fuel reserves met the national minimum standard and subsidised fuel prices would not increase.
