ITS Expert: Bahlil's Energy Diplomacy With US, Russia Is Crucial but Must Be Backed by Lifting and B50

Jakarta — Energy diplomacy pursued by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia with several countries, including the United States and Russia, is an important step to safeguard Indonesia's oil supply, according to an energy expert at the Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS). In his view, however, diplomacy alone is not enough without stronger domestic production and biofuels.

The ITS expert's assessment

ITS energy expert Ary Bachtiar called the diplomacy "a very crucial short-term tactical step", as quoted by RMOL. Its focus is to secure the physical availability of oil while keeping prices stable amid global geopolitical uncertainty.

He said the government needs to move quickly to source crude oil with the best economics from a range of countries, so that domestic refineries such as Cilacap, Balongan and Balikpapan continue to receive adequate feedstock.

Diplomacy must go hand in hand with production and biofuels

According to Ary, these short-term measures should be accompanied by efforts to raise domestic oil production through lifting, as well as the development of biofuels through the B50 and E50 programmes. The combination is seen as able to meet today's supply needs while building long-term energy self-sufficiency.

• Accelerating refinery modernisation to optimise processing capacity.
• Improving upstream oil and gas governance to gradually reduce import dependence.
• Using domestic resources — from oil palm and sugarcane to cassava — as feedstock for biodiesel and bioethanol.

Ary cautioned that biofuel programmes must take into account industry readiness, environmental sustainability and the balance between energy and food needs.

Downstreaming under a single command

Ary also highlighted the integration of energy and mineral resources affairs with the downstreaming agenda under a single line of coordination. In his view, this approach can build a value chain from mining through to value-added products within the country. Processing natural gas and coal domestically could also reduce imports of finished products.

Background to Bahlil's remarks

The assessment came after Bahlil spoke at the Investor Daily Summit 2026 on Wednesday (7 October 2026). He said geopolitical uncertainty is being felt almost everywhere in the world, not only in countries directly involved in conflict, and that its effects reach Indonesia through industrial supply chains and fuel prices. Bahlil said he keeps in contact with energy ministries in many countries, but none can yet say when the conflict will end, as reported by RMOL and Metro TV.

In the biodiesel context, the B50 programme now under way is intended, among other things, to end diesel imports of around 3–4 million kilolitres a year. Progress is covered in Biodiesel Distribution Reaches 10.69 Million kL Ahead of Full B50.