Bahlil Highlights LPG Import Dependency, Here's the Trend Over the Last 10 Years

The 2023 *Handbook of Energy & Economic Statistics of Indonesia* report from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) shows that Indonesia's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports reached 8.71 million tons in 2023.

This volume is up 1.73% from 2022, when imports totaled 8.56 million tons. Although the difference is slight, 2023's import volume remains the highest in the last decade.

Looking at the trend since 2013, Indonesian LPG imports have generally increased year-on-year. Slight decreases only occurred in 2017 and 2021, as shown in the graph.

Previously, ESDM Minister Bahlil Lahadalia mentioned that LPG prices in Indonesia are still high. In addition to the price issue, the newly inaugurated minister also highlighted the high volume of LPG imports.

"We will immediately prepare locations to build LPG industries, because we continuously import LPG. This is what we will do, in cooperation with SKK Migas, Pertamina, and the ESDM Ministry," said Bahlil after the handover ceremony as ESDM Minister, as reported by *Rmol.id* on Monday (August 19, 2024).

However, PT Pertamina (Persero) stated that Indonesia's LPG production capacity is far from sufficient to meet domestic demand.

Citing *Katadata.co.id*, PT Pertamina (Persero)'s Deputy President Director, Wiko Migantoro, said that the government and Pertamina must work together to find alternative supply sources to meet domestic needs.

“We can maximize the gas network by utilizing existing natural gas and our gas transmission infrastructure,” said Wiko when met in Jakarta on Monday (August 19, 2024).

While unable to meet domestic demand, Wiko mentioned that Indonesia can still produce LPG using two sources: directly from natural gas containing propane and butane (C3 C4), the raw materials for LPG; and from refinery processing that yields LPG as a byproduct.

“There are several upstream fields where we can extract propane and butane, and also from refineries,” he said.

(See also: [Indonesia's 2023 Final Energy Consumption in the Transportation Sector Reaches a Decade High](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2024/08/20/konsumsi-energi-final-sektor-transportasi-ri-2023-tertinggi-sedekade))