Indonesia's June LNG exports drop 36.6% as H1 shipments continue to decline

By Pandu Setiabudi

Indonesia exported 558,100 tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in June 2026, up 11.3% from the previous month but down 36.6% from a year earlier. Export value rose 21.8% month on month to US$303.4 million but fell 35.8% year on year.

For the first half of 2026, LNG exports totaled 4.26 million tonnes, down 22.4% from the same period last year, while export value declined 26.9% to US$2.07 billion from US$2.83 billion, according to data released by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) on Aug. 3.

The year-on-year decline in June was driven primarily by lower shipments to China, Indonesia's largest LNG buyer, with exports totaling 248,000 tonnes, down 1.8% from May and 51.3% from June 2025. Other major destinations were South Korea with 122,400 tonnes, Japan with 114,200 tonnes and the Philippines with 73,400 tonnes.

During the January-June period, China remained Indonesia's largest LNG export market despite a 33.1% year-on-year decline in shipments to 1.38 million tonnes. South Korea followed with 1.25 million tonnes, Japan with 1.12 million tonnes and the Philippines with 141,600 tonnes.

By export terminal, Bintuni in West Papua remained Indonesia's largest LNG shipping point in June, exporting 313,800 tonnes, down 0.4% from the previous month and 36.7% from a year earlier.

In the first half, Bintuni handled 2.77 million tonnes of LNG exports, down 20.5% year on year. Luwuk exported 853,100 tonnes, followed by Bontang Bay with 629,700 tonnes and Lingkas Tarakan with 12,800 tonnes.

In 2025, Indonesia exported 10.89 million tonnes of LNG worth US$5.56 billion. Japan was the largest destination with imports of 3.80 million tonnes, while Bintuni remained the country's largest LNG export terminal, handling 6.63 million tonnes.

Editing by Reiner SImanjuntak