Jakarta. Indonesia met its 2025 oil lifting target of around 600,000 barrels per day, but Chief Downstream and Energy Transition Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the achievement is hardly a reason to celebrate as domestic demand has surged to 1.6 million barrels per day.

Bahlil said oil lifting has improved from 2024, but production remains far below consumption, leaving Indonesia dependent on imports to cover a gap of roughly 1 million barrels per day.

“Thankfully, after eight years, in 2025 our lifting reached the state budget target of 600,000 barrels per day, and that was an increase from 2024,” Bahlil said at the Investor Daily Summit 2026 at the Raffles Hotel in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Current national oil lifting stands at around 600,000 to 610,000 barrel per day (bpd), while domestic consumption has reached about 1.6 million bpd.

“Is that enough? I don't think we need to applaud. It is miserable. Why? Because our consumption is 1.6 million barrels per day. We import 1 million. What is there to applaud?” he said.

Bahlil compared the current situation with 1996-1997, when Indonesia's oil lifting was close to 1.6 million bpd while domestic consumption was only around 500,000 bpd. The country was then able to export about 1 million to 1.5 million bpd.

“After the reform era, our lifting kept declining. When lifting was 1.6 million barrels per day, our consumption was only around 500,000 barrels per day, and we were still exporting roughly 1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day. That was in 1996-1997,” Bahlil said.

The prolonged decline in oil production has become more pressing as domestic demand continues to rise, widening Indonesia's reliance on imported crude and fuel.

To reverse the trend, the government plans to optimize mature oil fields, including by revitalizing wells that still have production potential.

Indonesia has around 40,000 oil wells, but only about 17,000 to 18,000 are currently active, with the remainder classified as idle wells.

“Our wells are all getting old. Therefore, we need to revitalize them,” Bahlil said.

The government aims to revive idle and mature wells to boost domestic oil production and narrow the widening gap between national output and consumption.

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