Restrictions On Gas Supply Up To 48 Percent Odd, Ministry Of Industry Forms Crisis Center

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) is moving quickly to respond to the industry's unrest of users receiving Certain Natural Gas Prices (HGBT) due to supply restrictions from gas manufacturers.

For this reason, the Ministry of Industry formed the "HGBT User Industry Crisis Center", as the official channel receiving reports, complaints and input from industry players regarding gas supply disruptions.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry Febri Hendri Antoni Arif assessed that supply restrictions of up to 48 percent were very odd.

"In our opinion, this is strange because the gas supply for normal prices, prices above 15 US dollars per MMBTU are stable. But why is the supply for HGBT worth 6.5 US dollars per MMBTU limited? That means there are no problems in the production and supply of gas from the national gas upstream industry," said Febri as quoted from his written statement, Tuesday, August 19.

Febri emphasized that gas manufacturers should not build narratives of supply restrictions just to encourage gas price increases.

"There are no issues or technical issues of production and gas supply from the upstream gas industry. We don't want incidents to happen again in the domestic industry, with an import relaxation policy that has resulted in a decline in production utilization, industrial closure and reduced labor in the TPT and footwear industry," he said.

The formation of this Crisis Center follows the increasing number of reports from domestic industry players regarding supply restrictions, declining gas pressure and higher gas prices than the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 121 of 2020.

This complaint media is expected to provide a sense of security and protection in domestic manufacturing investment. The seven beneficiaries of the HGBT, namely the fertilizer, petrochemical, oleochemical, steel, ceramics, glass, and rubber gloves industries.

Several companies have reported supply restrictions and gas pressure is unstable, forcing operational engineering to keep production running.

"In the field, there are those who have to turn off one of the production lines units or replace fuel from gas to diesel. This step does keep production running, but production costs are increasing significantly. In fact, there is already an industry that has stopped production and has the potential to lay off workers," he explained.

The cases are common in the ceramic, glass, steel and oleochemical sectors that rely heavily on competitive gas supplies.

"With the center of this crisis, every complaint and fact on the ground can be compiled systematically, so that anticipatory policies and measures on the risk of this crisis are based on real data from the field," he said.

According to Febri, gas is a vital component of production. Thus, supply disruptions or price spikes will have a direct impact on competitiveness, productivity and business continuity.

"If the gas is limited, the pressure will decrease, or the price will increase, the industry will be hit. This could trigger a reduction in capacity, threats of layoffs and a decrease in the competitiveness of Indonesian products," he said.

Previously, PT Perusahaan Gas Negara Tbk (PGN) reported that currently there was a decrease in gas volume distributed in August 2025 by gas suppliers or Cooperation Contract Contractors (KKKS) in upstream oil and gas.