Regarding Indonesia's Energy Self-Sufficiency, ERIA Economist Asks to Pay Attention to This

Senior Policy Fellow for Energy and Environment The Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) Prof Jun arima. (Photo: Special)

JAKARTA - Senior Policy Fellow for Energy and Environment of the Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Jun Arima, commented on President Prabowo's speech stating that he would achieve energy self-sufficiency.

Prabowo revealed this energy self-sufficiency program in his inaugural speech before parliament after his inauguration as president on October 20, 2024.

Jun said that Prabowo's statement was in line with the assumption that to increase domestic energy production by increasing penetration of fuels such as biodiesel and bioavtur from palm oil.

"And that can reduce the dependence of Indonesian aviation on the fuel needed," he told reporters, Friday, November 8.

However, he warned of the potential for potential conflict between the need for palm oil for bioenergy fuel and food production.

"And it can also cause deforestation. So that is a problem that must be anticipated," he said.

Furthermore, Jun said that there are other commodities that can be used as self-sufficiency or energy self-sufficiency, namely liquefied natural gas (LNG).

"By promoting small scale LNG projects, it is a very good thing for self-sufficiency," he added.

It is known that Indonesia (RI) will utilize gas from the Masela Block to be processed into LNG. The Indonesian Gas Society (IGS) predicts that the natural gas industry in Indonesia has the potential to become increasingly dependent on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the future.

This is because the growth in demand for natural gas as a transitional energy towards clean energy, in accordance with the government's commitment to achieve net zero emissions, has not been balanced by additional gas supplies.

"Therefore, there is the potential for Indonesia to become a net importer of LNG in the future," said Senior Advisor IGS Salis S Aprilian, Thursday, June 13.

Salis said the projection of dependence on LNG was the result of a study by IGS, which together with Rystad had prepared the Indonesian Gas Market White Paper, which describes the condition of the natural gas industry in Indonesia.