Govt sees no impact from EU Karimun terminal sanctions, eyes storage expansion

By Calvin Purba

Indonesia has not seen any direct impact from the European Union’s inclusion of the Karimun oil terminal in its latest Russia-related sanctions package and plans to expand storage capacity at the facility, a senior energy ministry official said.

The EU recently referenced the Karimun Oil Terminal in Riau Islands Province in a sanctions measure targeting Russia, marking the first time the bloc has cited port infrastructure outside Russia in its energy-related actions.

Laode Sulaeman, Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), said operations at PT Oil Terminal Karimun remain unaffected.

“We do not see any specific impact related to that,” Laode said on Monday (May 4). “This issue is not new. It has existed before, and we are just staying on track. Indonesia maintains a free and active foreign policy, so we continue to pursue cooperation with various countries.”

He added that the Karimun terminal could play a larger role in strengthening Indonesia’s energy resilience, with room to increase storage capacity.

“In fact, Karimun will become one of our strengths because there is still space there to increase storage capacity,” he said, without elaborating.

Read also: EU flags Karimun terminal in Russia sanctions, operator denies any link to shadow fleet

Separately, PT Oil Terminal Karimun has said it is not designated as a sanctioned entity under the EU’s latest package, following confusion over references to its facility in a newly issued regulation.

The company said the EU measure refers to infrastructure listed in an annex, rather than naming the firm as a sanctioned legal entity, meaning it is not subject to asset freezes or direct restrictions.

“The reference is to infrastructure or a location and should not be interpreted as a designation of PT Oil Terminal Karimun as a sanctioned legal entity,” the company said.

The firm added that it maintains compliance procedures, including counterparty screening, vessel checks and documentation reviews, and only accepts transactions that meet applicable regulations.

It also noted that the EU regulation primarily affects transactions involving EU-linked entities or services and does not automatically apply to activities conducted entirely outside the bloc by non-EU parties.

PT Oil Terminal Karimun said it is reviewing the regulation and plans to engage with stakeholders to seek clarification, while continuing to operate in accordance with Indonesian law and international maritime standards.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak