Indonesia accuses Singapore of reselling LNG cargoes

Indonesia's top energy official has accused Singapore of selling part of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) it buys from Indonesia on to other countries, The Straits Times reports. Bahlil Lahadalia, Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition, gave no evidence to back the accusation.

The remarks add strain to ties already tested by Jakarta's decision to cut pipeline gas deliveries to Singapore from October 24 and by a renewed row over haze drifting from Indonesian forest and land fires. Singapore has been Indonesia's biggest source of foreign direct investment since 2014. It invested $17.4bn in the country in 2025.

"I believe that not all of the 148 cargoes we send are used for Singapore's own needs, but some are traded and subsequently exported to other countries," Bahlil, who also serves as Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, told reporters on October 29 after talks with President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta. He did not say when the shipments took place.

His comments concerned seaborne LNG, not the pipeline gas Indonesia supplies from its Natuna and Sumatra fields. Re-exporting LNG is not improper in itself, though supply contracts govern such trades.

Upstream regulator SKK Migas has reduced pipeline volumes by roughly 877,822 standard cubic metres per day and redirected the gas to power generation in Batam, Bintan and Sumatra. Singapore's Energy Market Authority said importers reported a shortfall of 17bn British thermal units per day over 18 days, under 2% of the city state's daily demand.

Bahlil said deliveries still exceeded contractual minimums. He added that Jakarta had no immediate plan to curb LNG exports but would put domestic needs first. On October 26 he said Indonesia should not be lectured on contracts, a day after Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said he expected commercial commitments to be honoured.

Other Indonesian figures sought to cool the dispute. Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani said Singapore's investment pledges were unaffected.

"Why would we fight with Singapore? There's no reason to," Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, chairman of the National Economic Council, told reporters on October 27.

Shinta Kamdani, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, voiced optimism about Prabowo's October 28 meeting with Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. "I am confident that the meeting will lead to a solution," she said.

During Balakrishnan's visit from October 27 to 29, the two countries agreed to form a joint task force on haze enforcement and information-sharing.