Jakarta. Indonesia will assign the government-run oil and gas research agency Lemigas to manage crude oil imports from Russia, marking a departure from the long-standing practice of relying on state energy company Pertamina for most crude purchases, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Monday.

To enable entities other than Pertamina to import crude oil, President Prabowo Subianto has issued a new regulation expanding the government's procurement options.

“The presidential regulation directs that energy imports can also be managed by a public service agency, in this case Lemigas,” Bahlil told reporters at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta.

Lemigas, formally known as the Center for Oil and Gas Testing, is a technical agency under the Energy Ministry primarily responsible for research, testing, and certification in the oil and gas sector.

According to Bahlil, placing imports under Lemigas is intended to streamline procurement and shorten the supply chain. The arrangement would also facilitate government-to-government transactions before commercial entities become involved.

“If the president reaches an agreement with another country regarding crude procurement, it can be conducted directly on a government-to-government basis and then followed up through a government-to-business mechanism,” he said.

Indonesia and Russia have reportedly agreed on the supply of 150 million barrels of crude oil following Prabowo’s visit to Moscow in April.

However, Pertamina has been unable to participate directly in Russian crude purchases because Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine could expose the company to financial risks. Energy Ministry officials have previously noted that Pertamina’s exposure to international capital markets, including its global bond holdings, makes direct purchases of Russian oil particularly sensitive.

To facilitate imports by entities other than state-owned enterprises, Prabowo issued Presidential Regulation No. 26 of 2026 on the Procurement of Crude Oil, Refined Fuels, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas for National Energy Security.

Article 4 of the regulation allows energy imports to be carried out by “public service agencies in the energy sector” under cooperation agreements, either between governments or between the Indonesian government and foreign suppliers.

Article 5 further authorizes both public service agencies and Pertamina to undertake energy imports under urgent circumstances, even when procurement prices differ due to variations in volume, product type, country of origin, or delivery schedules stipulated in purchase contracts.

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