Jakarta. Chief Energy Transition Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said Monday that Indonesia never breached its Singaporean natural gas contract, saying that the recent cut was still far below the cap.

Indonesia has officially slashed its Singapore-bound pipeline gas exports by about 31 billion British thermal units per day (BBTUD) starting Saturday, in an attempt to secure domestic supplies. Indonesia is one of Singapore’s key gas sources, prompting the city-state to consider remedies if Jakarta neglects its commitments.

In a live-broadcast press briefing, Bahlil said that Indonesia would usually supply around 409.55 BBTUD prior to the move.

“Media reports say that 31 BBTUD is only 2% of what our good friend consumes. The 31 BBTUD cut still falls under the contract’s cap, which is between 91 and 92 [BBTUD],” Bahlil told reporters, without mentioning Singapore by name. 

“So the [reduction] is around 8% of [the total export]. If we lower it by 10%, that would mean a contract violation.” 

The now-gone 31 BBTUD, however, were coming from the Natuna and Sumatra pipeline networks. The fellow ASEAN nation still gets 146 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Indonesia.

“We respect the rules and contracts. Don’t lecture Indonesia about honoring contracts,” Bahlil said.

“The ASEAN emblem of stalks symbolizes shared prosperity and mutual respect. How we should stand on equal footing, with no one above or below another. So I call on the others to respect one another.”

In response to Jakarta’s reductions, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said over the weekend that his country “expects all parties to honor their commitments”. The government has told the public to keep calm as the electricity price will remain unaffected, citing that the reductions account for just less than 2% of the national daily gas demand.

Singapore is importing its gas from Malaysia, Australia, Qatar, among others. The country is betting on LNG terminals to be less dependent on pipeline networks.

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