JAKARTA: Indonesia will import more crude oil from the United States to replace supplies from the war-torn Middle East, the archipelago’s energy minister said on Tuesday.
Attacks by the United States and Israel on the Islamic republic and Iran’s retaliatory strikes in the region have disrupted crude flows, with the crucial Strait of Hormuz – through which about a fifth of global oil transits – effectively closed off.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia said 20 to 25% of Indonesia’s total crude oil imports come from the Middle East and pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
“For the crude oil we currently take from the Middle East, we are diverting part of it to purchases from the United States, so that we have certainty regarding the availability of our crude oil,” Bahlil told reporters.
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Indonesia imports the bulk of the oil it uses, most of it from Nigeria.
Bahlil said 30% of Indonesia’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports also came from the Middle East, and the government would seek alternative suppliers.
Bahlil said Indonesia had enough crude oil supply for three weeks and that it couldn’t import more because the country did not have adequate storage facilities.
Indonesia has pledged to purchase $15 billion of US energy under a newly-signed trade agreement with the United States.
President Prabowo Subianto has set a target for Indonesia to achieve energy self-sufficiency within the next five to seven years.
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