Indonesia Says UAE Has Offered Up to 30 Million Barrels of Free Crude
The United Arab Emirates has offered Indonesia as much as 30 million barrels of crude oil without charging for the oil or shipping, according to upstream oil and gas regulator SKK Migas chief Djoko Siswanto. The proposed arrangement's terms and delivery schedule remain undisclosed.
Offer discussed in Jakarta
Djoko described the offer after joining Chief Downstream Industry and Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia for talks with UAE Ambassador Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri in Jakarta on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
"The Abu Dhabi ambassador said they would send up to 30 million barrels of oil to Indonesia at no cost, with no working capital required and shipping provided free of charge. This is good news for us," Djoko said at an event in Jakarta marking the completion of the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the Abadi Masela LNG project.
In a text message that day, Djoko said Indonesia could draw on the supply at any time. He provided no further explanation of the financing structure, delivery timetable or other conditions. The UAE embassy in Jakarta did not respond to requests for comment.
The talks with the ambassador also addressed progress toward a final investment decision for a gas project in the Andaman Block off Aceh.
Import needs and the search for suppliers
Indonesia is seeking supplies from several countries to strengthen energy security. On October 26, Bahlil said he had been instructed to find alternative fuel sources, linking the directive to continuing disruptions in the Middle East. He is scheduled to visit India and China for supply assurances, and state-owned energy company Pertamina has been assigned to pursue long-term supply contracts.
Domestic crude production remains below the government's target. Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry figures cited by Bahlil put output at 571,731 barrels per day as of September 8, 2026, compared with the year's lifting target of 610,000 barrels per day.
Indonesia is also carrying out a phased plan to import 150 million barrels of Russian crude through the end of 2026. An initial shipment arrived in August, and a second procurement phase was underway as of September. The Energy Ministry's Oil and Gas Testing Center, Lemigas, manages those deals through government-to-government framework agreements that transition into government-to-business contracts under Presidential Regulation No. 26/2026.
The United States is another source of planned energy purchases. Under the Agreement between the United States of America and the Republic of Indonesia on Reciprocal Trade, Indonesia committed to importing about $15 billion in U.S. energy products. Energy Ministry spokesperson Dwi Anggia said the total consists of $3.5 billion in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), $4.5 billion in crude oil and $7 billion in refined gasoline.
Government-cited figures show that imports meet around 80 percent of Indonesia's LPG needs, with the United States among its major suppliers.
Government takes the lead in procurement
Indonesia is also revising the way it buys energy from abroad. Presidential Regulation No. 107/2026, signed by President Prabowo Subianto, provides for crude oil, fuel and LPG purchases through government-to-government or government-to-business arrangements. The policy is intended to make domestic supplies more certain while the country remains reliant on imported crude and LPG.
The government negotiates directly with supplying countries under this mechanism. A designated public service agency, known as a Badan Layanan Umum (BLU), then procures the products, which Pertamina buys from the agency.
Pertamina retains permission to import directly in specified circumstances, including critically low national reserves or geopolitical disruptions to supplies from producing countries. Those purchases must be coordinated with the BLU.