Jakarta. A Russian diplomat revealed Monday that Moscow was open for negotiations to sell its oil to BRICS new member Indonesia as Jakarta looks for more affordable supplies.

Russian oil has long been subject to widespread European sanctions following a major escalation to the Russo-Ukraine war in 2022. These sanctions forced Russia to sell crude oil at a discount of $3 to $4 per barrel below global benchmarks. 

Not long after Indonesia got admitted to the Russia-led BRICS, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia revealed that Jakarta was exploring the possibility of buying cheap Russian oil. The government’s senior economic advisor Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan also made a similar statement, even saying “why not?” if Indonesia could spend less for oil supply.

Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Tolchenov said Monday that he was aware of Indonesia’s interest in his country’s oil. However, Tolchenov said that Indonesia had yet made any official requests, although Bahlil had invited him for some talks. The envoy also alluded that the meeting could possibly touch on the oil purchase.

“But discussions on oil purchases usually take place business-to-business. These purchases could even be done without public announcements. We do have very big players in the oil and gas market, including Rosneft and Gazprom Neft,” Tolchenov told The Jakarta Globe.

“We believe Indonesia is interested in our oil and LNG [liquefied natural gas]. We are ready to cooperate in this field,” Tolchenov said.

In 2022, the G7, the European Union (EU), and Australia set a price ceiling that Russian oil shipments that used services from their countries had to be under $60 per barrel. Several EU economies including Sweden recently called for the cap to be further lower than $60 to deprive Russia of revenue that they feared could be used to fund the war. 

Indonesia has to rely on oil imports as its production fails to meet the national demand. The national oil production reaches between 700,000 and 800,000 barrels a day, only half of what the country needs. Indonesia’s oil imports mainly came from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members such as Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia’s overall oil and gas imports were worth $36.3 billion throughout 2024, up from $35.9 billion the previous year.