Jakarta. Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia expressed confidence that Indonesia’s 2025 oil lifting target of 605,000 barrels per day will be achieved.

Speaking at the Investor Daily Summit 2025 at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on Thursday, Bahlil cited recent data from the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKK Migas), which showed that oil lifting in the first half of 2025 reached 578,000 barrels per day, about 95.5 percent of the full-year target set in the state budget.

He reflected on Indonesia’s energy journey, noting that before the 1998 economic crisis, national oil production reached a peak of 1.5–1.6 million barrels per day, making Indonesia one of the key members of OPEC at the time.

“Back then, economic growth stood at around 5–7 percent, and 40 percent of the state budget was financed by the oil and gas sector. The contribution of energy to the national economy was massive,” Bahlil said.

However, post-reform production steadily declined while domestic demand surged.

“In the past, we consumed only about 500,000 barrels daily and could export up to one million barrels. Now, it’s the other way around, we import around one million barrels a day because our 2024 lifting was only 580,000 barrels,” he explained.

Bahlil acknowledged that no annual oil lifting target has been met since 2008, but remained confident this year would be different.

“In 2025, I promise you all that the oil lifting target will reach 605,000 barrels per day. We’re already in October, and progress is on track,” he affirmed.

Still, he admitted that boosting production is far from easy.

“This isn’t a small task. Unlike food production, oil exploration alone can take three to five years,” he said.