JAKARTA - The Indonesian government continues to monitor the development of the situation in the Middle East following the escalation of the conflict after the United States attack on Iran which prompted a rise in world oil prices.
Citing data from Trading Economics as of 13.15 WIB, the price of Brent crude oil broke through 78.9 US dollars per barrel or rose 7.17 percent. Meanwhile, the price of West Texas intermediate crude oil (WTI) rose to around 71.67 US dollars per barrel or rose 6.95 percent
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that the conflict has the potential to disrupt global oil supplies and energy distribution routes in strategic areas such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea (Red Sea) as crucial points affected by tensions.
"Yes, first of all, if Iran is certainly disturbed is the oil supply, and the oil supply is because the Hormuz Strait is disturbed, not the Red Sea. So we'll see how far this battle will continue," he told the media, Monday, March 2.
As a precautionary measure, he added that the government had prepared a number of strategies to maintain national energy resilience, one of which was through cooperation in oil supplies from outside the Middle East region.
Airlangga said PT Pertamina (Persero) had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a number of energy companies from the United States, such as Chevron and Exxon, as well as other partners.
Regarding the possibility of importing oil from Russia, Airlangga said the government would continue to monitor the available supply sources and make it possible to be imported according to national needs.
"(Take oil from Russia?) Yes, of course we monitor which is available and which can be imported," he explained.
Airlangga also explained that the geopolitical impact in the Middle East not only affects energy supply, but also the logistics and tourism sectors.
"Yes, the first thing that is disturbed is of course the oil supply, the second is logistics transportation and the third is of course we see that tourism will be very disrupted," he said.
In addition, he said that Indonesia's export performance could be affected, depending on the duration and escalation of conflicts involving a number of countries in the region.
"Yes, if the country depends on how long. We will monitor again that this war is long or a 12-day war or how far the war is," he explained.
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