Antara, Jakarta – Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia urged the state-run energy firm Pertamina to import American fuel regardless of the logistical challenges, as Jakarta's tariff negotiations continue.

Indonesia is trying to persuade the Donald Trump government to bring down its upcoming reciprocal tariffs. To sweeten the deal, Indonesia has offered to import more US fuel. This way, the US can improve its trade imbalance – something that prompted Trump to charge a 32 percent tariff on Indonesian goods. Bahlil is now telling Pertamina to make sure that it is buying from the US.

"There is no excuse [to not import from the US]. We have already imported liquefied petroleum gas [LPG] from the US," Bahlil said in Jakarta on Friday, as reported by the state news agency Antara.

Just a day earlier, Pertamina's boss, Simon Aloysius Mantiri, said that the company plans to shift the fuel import portion from other countries to the US. He, however, admitted that Pertamina would likely face logistical and distribution challenges if it was to raise imports from the US.

"The biggest risks would be the distance and delivery time. If we import from the US, it would take much longer to arrive compared to other sources such as the Middle East or Asian countries – it takes about 40 days," Simon told Indonesian lawmakers in Jakarta on Thursday.

However, Pertamina will still conduct a study on the possibility of raising oil and gas imports from the US. Data showed that the US made up 4 percent of Pertamina's crude oil import quota. The US also made up 57 percent of Pertamina's LPG imports. The transactions were valued at around $3 billion a year.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/govt-urges-pertamina-to-import-us-fuel-no-matter-wha