Indonesia imports Russian oil cargoes
Wednesday, February 4 2026 - 07:37 AM WIB
Indonesia imported two cargoes of Russian crude oil in December 2025 and January 2026, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler and Vortexa as reported by Reuters, marking rare purchases by the country as Moscow seeks alternative markets amid international pressure on its traditional buyers.
The cargoes were identified as Sakhalin Blend crude. Vortexa analyst Emma Li said one standard cargo was delivered each month.
Kpler data showed that a tanker, GT Honor, discharged about 700,000 barrels at Balikpapan port on December 25 after a ship-to-ship transfer near Hong Kong with the tanker Galaxy. Another vessel, Integrity Racer, unloaded a similar volume at Cilacap port in January following a ship-to-ship transfer with Voyager near Hong Kong.
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Pertamina confirmed GT Honor discharged at Balikpapan but denied that the cargo was Sakhalin crude and said it has not imported any Russian oil. Pertamina did not comment on the Integrity Racer cargo.
Kpler records show Indonesia last imported Russian crude in June 2023, when around one million barrels of Urals crude were delivered to the Cilacap refinery.
The purchases come as prospects of declining demand from India, one of Russia’s largest crude buyers, have pressured prices of Russian oil.
Editing by Alexander Ginting