Private retailers in talks with Pertamina over fuel purchases
Saturday, March 14 2026 - 07:21 AM WIB
By Calvin Purba
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) said it has facilitated negotiations for fuel purchases between private fuel retailers and state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero).
According to Yuliot Tanjung, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, the discussions cover all types of fuel.
“Yesterday I also facilitated several private gas station operators so they could negotiate directly with Pertamina, and this was supported by the president director,” Yuliot said on Friday (Mar. 13). “All types (of fuel).”
Previously, the government had asked the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to instruct private operators of public fuel filling stations (SPBU)—including Shell, BP-AKR, and Vivo—to begin purchasing domestically produced diesel from Pertamina (Persero) starting April 2026.
Director General of Oil and Gas Laode Sulaeman said the directive aligns with the government’s policy to halt diesel imports this year, as domestic supply is expected to be in surplus. The surplus follows the operation of the Balikpapan Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) project and the implementation of the mandatory 40% biodiesel blend (B40).
Read also: MEMR asks private fuel retailers to buy diesel from Pertamina from April
MEMR has also sent official letters to private fuel retailers, urging them to immediately establish business-to-business (B2B) cooperation with Pertamina for diesel procurement.
At the same time, MEMR has also allowed private fuel retailers to resume fuel imports in 2026, with the import quota set to increase compared with 2025. Laode said the higher quota reflects strong domestic demand, noting that fuel stocks at private gas stations had run out since late August 2025 after the previous year’s quota was exhausted ahead of schedule.
Although import permits have been approved, Laode did not disclose the exact volume allocated for 2026. He said the increase is broadly in line with last year’s adjustment, which was around 10%.
“It has been approved. It’s roughly the same—an increase of about 10% compared with 2025,” Laode said on Monday night (Jan. 5, 2026).
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak