Prabowo Highlights Annual US$40bn Oil and Gas Import Bill, Calls for Energy Self-Sufficiency

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto pointed out a large amount of state expenditure on oil and gas imports, revealing that Indonesia spends approximately US$40 billion annually, or around Rp650 trillion based on the current exchange rate.

According to him, this significant sum should be allocated to finance education and other essential needs. To this end, the President emphasized the importance of energy self-sufficiency and reducing dependence on imports.

"We still depend on oil and gas imports; the money we spend is very large, almost US$40 billion per year," Prabowo said during his speech at the opening of the IPA Convex 2025 in BSD, Tangerang, on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

On that occasion, Prabowo also called for collaborative efforts to achieve energy self-sufficiency, inviting all stakeholders including state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the government, and the private sector, to work together towards this goal.

Prabowo assessed that one crucial step to achieving energy self-sufficiency is the simplification of regulations, arguing that complicated regulations hinder investment flow in the oil and gas sector.

"I ask all regulatory bodies to simplify regulations. I repeat, simplify regulations. So far, there has been a tendency, not only in Indonesia, but Indonesia is an expert at creating regulations that actually make things difficult for us. We must stop this," the President asserted.

Prabowo cited an example from the food sector, claiming that even though he has not been president for a year, current food production levels are the highest in history.

According to Prabowo, this achievement was possible due to the government's implementation of well-measured and reasonable policies.

"Our food production has exceeded the target and even surpassed our own estimates. Food reserves, especially rice and corn, stored in government warehouses, are currently the largest in the history of the Republic of Indonesia since this country was founded," Prabowo declared.

Furthermore, he requested that the successful approach in food production be replicated in the energy sector. "The same applies to the energy sector. Our policy direction is also simple; we understand that Indonesia’s energy potential is very large. Earlier, I received a report that dozens of oil and gas blocks are ready to be offered on a large scale," Prabowo said.

To ensure the smooth execution of these contract offerings, the President reiterated the necessity of simplifying existing regulations. He even declared his intent to remove officials who fail to simplify regulations.

"Officials who do not want to simplify regulations, I will replace, I will remove, because there are many talented young Indonesians who are waiting for the opportunity to prove their abilities," Prabowo concluded.

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