The Government Of 'Bujuk' Russia Working On Oil And Gas Projects In Indonesia

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia accompanied Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on a visit to Russia to attend a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantinovsky Palace, Russia on Thursday, June 19 local time.

The energy sector is one of the discussion points at the meeting. The two countries are interested in working on a liquid natural gas exploration and production project or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to oil supply.

"We invite Russian strategic partners to engage in new field exploration (oil and gas) and offshore gas reserves found," Bahlil said in a written statement, Friday, June 20.

Bahlil said that this cooperation assessment is expected to be able to provide benefits for both parties, especially in boosting national oil and gas lifting according to the target set by President Prabowo to realize energy self-sufficiency.

To meet this target, the Russian Government offers modernization of oil and gas infrastructure. This modernization includes the use of the latest technology to optimize wells that have been considered less productive.

"We are willing to modernize infrastructure to boost oil production from old fields," Putin said during a press conference.

Efforts to optimize old oil wells are a serious stimulus from the government for oil and gas investors. Cooperation Contractors (KKKS) who already have Oil and Gas Working Areas (WK) can empower the surrounding community to become business-to-business (B2B) partners.

In this regard, the government has issued Ministerial Regulation Number 14 of 2025 concerning Cooperation in Management of the Working Area for Increasing Oil and Gas Production.

The regulation accommodates public oil wells into business entities such as cooperatives or regional-owned enterprises (BUMD), by implementing accountable mining practices.

"This is a new breakthrough from the government in order to increase national oil and gas production as well as improve the management of oil and gas resources, including handling illegal community oil wells and negative impacts that arise on the environment and safety," said Bahlil.

For information, Russia-Indonesia relations have been established strongly through collaboration in the energy sector, starting from oil and gas, coal, electricity, new and renewable energy (EBT), and energy efficiency. One of them is the plan to build oil refineries and petrochemical complexes in East Java.

This collaborative model is expected by the Government of Indonesia to become a foothold for future oil and gas projects, as well as injecting high-tech investment into the national industry.