SOE Minister Opens Opportunities For Pertamina To Increase Crude Oil Import Quota From The US

SOE Minister Erick Thohir. (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir opened up opportunities for PT Pertamina (Persero) to increase imports of crude oil or crude oil from the United States (US).

Moreover, continued Erick, Indonesia's imports of crude oil from the US are still minimal. Where the current portion is only around 4 percent.

"For crude oil, today we are only 4 percent, meaning we can shift our crude oil needs compared to LPG," Erick said in a working meeting with Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives, in Jakarta, Tuesday, May 20.

Erick said the increase in the portion of crude oil imports could reach 30 percent. However, he stressed that this plan is not final.

Furthermore, Erick said, the increase in the portion of imports was part of efforts to diversify energy sources, as well as balance the structure of energy trading.

"Of course, these are still stages that have not broken, whether later this crude oil we can increase the number from 4 percent, for example to 30 percent or 25 percent. Of course this is a balance between these trade transactions that we maintain, until we are dominated by the needs of this one country which is supply chain that we hope for," he said.

Meanwhile, for LPG commodities, Erick revealed, Indonesia's dependence on imports from the US is already very high.

Currently, 57 percent of the national LPG needs come from the US.

"Then of course it was conveyed about the procurement of oil, of course, like LPG, I'm sorry that I corrected it, today we have reached 57 percent of the LPG from America," he said.