Imports of BBM (fuel) and lubricants have decreased since 2019.

Indonesia's imports of fuel oil and lubricants have decreased over the past two years. According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the volume of fuel oil and lubricant imports reached its highest level in 2018, at 52.94 million tons with a value of US$29.92 billion.

The volume of fuel oil and lubricant imports then fell to 46.2 million tons with a value of US$22.3 billion in 2019. The volume further decreased by 2.78% to 44.91 million tons. This comprised 18.52 million tons of raw materials and 26.39 million tons of processed materials.

Meanwhile, the value of fuel oil and lubricant imports fell by 33.08% to US$14.89 billion last year. This comprised US$4.29 billion for raw materials and US$10.6 billion for processed materials.

The decrease in fuel oil and lubricant imports is part of the government's efforts to reduce the trade deficit, particularly in the oil and gas sector. The reduction in imports over the past two years has been driven by the policy of using a 20% bioenergy blend in diesel fuel (B20), which has continued with B30.

As shown in the graph, the volume of fuel oil and lubricant imports showed an upward trend from 1996 to 2018. This coincided with increasing fuel needs that domestic production could not yet meet.