Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the Vedomosti newspaper on why Indonesia needs Russian hydrocarbons and what their supplies may be in terms of volume and timing.
Indonesia showed interest in Russian oil in 2022 even under then-President Joko Widodo against the background of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Belogoryev recalled. But until November 2025. India, China and Turkey consumed almost all the available volumes of Russian oil exports, he says. In addition, Indonesian refineries are configured for lighter grades of oil. In addition, at that time Indonesia and other Asian countries were afraid of secondary US sanctions. Only China and India could afford to import Russian oil. According to Belogoryev, Russia could potentially supply 100,000-150,000 barrels to the Indonesian market per day and 100,000 barrels of petroleum products.
"Since the mid-1990s, oil production in Indonesia has decreased from 1.6 million to 0.6 million barrels per day due to depletion of the old resource base and failures in exploration. Back in 2003, the country turned into a net importer of oil," the expert said.
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