SINGAPORE, Oct 23 — Indonesia is weighing the option of ending gas export contracts with its neighbours, including Singapore, which counts the republic as one of its main sources of natural gas.
AsiaOne reported that Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, who has led Golkar since August 2024, made the remarks to reporters on Wednesday after a plenary meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta marking the second anniversary of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration.
According to Indonesian media, Bahlil said the option was being considered in line with Prabowo’s directive for the country to adopt a survival-oriented approach amid geopolitical tensions and global energy challenges, and that domestic demand should be met first before supplies are allocated overseas.
“I am also considering not renewing gas export contracts with neighbouring countries,” the Jakarta Globe quoted him as saying.
He doubled down yesterday at the launch of a gas facility, with Antara reporting him as saying Indonesia was prepared to review exports to countries it deemed “uncooperative and disrespectful”.
“So, if other countries want a different view of us, be careful,” he said, without appearing to name any country.
Indonesia exports gas to several major Asian economies, including China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and its current contracts with Singapore expire at the end of 2028.
According to Singapore’s Energy Market Authority, 40 per cent of the republic’s natural gas supply comes via pipelines from Malaysia and Indonesia, with the rest shipped in from markets worldwide.
Jakarta’s shift towards prioritising domestic needs is not new. In September 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, then Minister for Trade and Industry, told Parliament that no single country accounted for more than 30 per cent of Singapore’s gas imports.
Gan said Singapore’s LNG terminal, which began operations in 2013, allowed it to import from suppliers around the world, with LNG making up close to 60 per cent of its total natural gas supply, and that a second terminal was being built to boost import capacity.
Singapore has also been diversifying its energy mix, hitting its target of at least 2 gigawatt-peak of solar capacity ahead of its 2030 deadline and raising it to 3 gigawatt-peak.
In 2025, it set up Singapore GasCo as a central gas aggregator to ensure the country remains adequately contracted for natural gas at all times.
