President Prabowo Appoints Bahlil As Chair Of The National Energy Downstream And Resilience Acceleration Task Force

President Prabowo Subianto at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta (doc Setneg)

President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto has officially formed a Task Force for the Acceleration of National Energy Downstreaming and Resilience to accelerate downstreaming of strategic sectors and strengthen national energy security.

This task force is led by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, and involves a number of ministers and leaders of related institutions.

Presidential Decree Number 1 of 2025, issued on Friday last week, explains that the main objective of forming a task force is to accelerate downstreaming of various sectors, including minerals and coal, oil and gas, agriculture, forestry, as well as marine and fisheries. In addition, the task force is also tasked with accelerating the achievement of national energy security.

Downstream aims to increase the added value of domestically produced commodities. For this reason, the task force will oversee various activities, ranging from energy production, electricity, to the development of new and renewable energy, as well as supporting infrastructure such as storage facilities, pipelines, and natural oil and gas networks.

The National Energy Downstream and Resilience Acceleration Task Force is directly responsible to the President, and has a number of main tasks, including improving policy coordination with ministries/agencies, formulating and setting priority standards for business activities, as well as identifying downstream strategic projects that can be funded by banks, financial institutions, or the state budget.

The Task Force is also authorized to accelerate the resolution of barriers in the downstream process and energy security, as well as provide administrative recommendations to officials who hinder the acceleration.

The task force management structure consists of several high-ranking state officials, with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources as Chair, as well as the Deputy Chair who comes from the relevant ministries, such as the Minister of Investment, the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning, and the Minister of Agriculture, among others. In addition, the task force will be supported by a secretariat based in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to provide technical and administrative support.