Indonesian minister alleges Singapore re-exports LNG, offers no evidence
Bahlil Lahadalia said Indonesia had no immediate plans to cut LNG exports, as other officials sought to ease bilateral tensions.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition Bahlil Lahadalia alleged on Oct 29 that Singapore was reselling some Indonesian liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments. He offered no evidence and did not identify when the shipments were made.
Speaking after talks with President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta, Bahlil said he believed Singapore had traded and re-exported part of the 148 cargoes Indonesia had supplied. Such transactions are not inherently improper, though they are governed by supply agreement terms.
The allegation concerns seaborne LNG, rather than the pipeline gas whose exports Indonesia began cutting on Oct 24 to meet domestic energy needs. Singapore’s Energy Market Authority said information from importers indicated the reduction represented less than 2 per cent of the country’s daily gas demand.
Bahlil maintained that pipeline deliveries still exceeded contractual minimums and that Indonesia had met its obligations. He said there were no immediate plans to cut LNG exports to Singapore, while reiterating that domestic demand would take priority.
Other Indonesian officials sought to lower tensions over energy supplies and haze. Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani said on Oct 29 that Singapore’s investment commitments remained unchanged. Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry deputy chairman Shinta Kamdani also said she had seen no weakening of Singaporean investment interest in the real economy.
During Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s visit to Jakarta from Oct 27 to 29, the countries agreed to create a joint task force for better information exchange and enforcement cooperation on haze. Balakrishnan and Prabowo met on Oct 28 and reaffirmed their commitment to close bilateral ties despite disagreements on individual issues.
