Indonesia cuts Singapore gas exports by 31m cubic feet a day

Indonesia began reducing natural gas exports to Singapore by 31 million standard cubic feet a day on Saturday, SKK Migas said in a Channel NewsAsia report published Oct. 24.

The cut affects Singapore’s main power fuel: gas generates about 95% of electricity, while piped gas supplied 43% of total gas imports in 2025 versus 57% from liquefied natural gas.

Indonesia’s upstream oil and gas regulator said the redirected volume includes 15 million standard cubic feet a day from Natuna and 16 million standard cubic feet a day from Sumatra.

SKK Migas said Natuna gas is moving to PLN Batam through the WNTS-Pulau Pemping-Batam pipeline. Sumatra supply is being sent through the TGI pipeline for electricity demand in Batam, Bintan and Sumatra.

The regulator said the step was meant to “safeguard the reliability of domestic gas supplies for electricity generation”. It cited Article 8, Paragraph 1 of Indonesia’s Oil and Gas Law as the basis for prioritising domestic gas use, and said it would monitor developments daily.

The reduction followed remarks by Bahlil Lahadalia, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, who warned on Thursday that Jakarta could reassess energy exports to countries that did not respect Indonesia.

“I will conduct an evaluation. I will not hesitate to consider stopping exports to countries that do not respect Indonesia,” Bahlil said at an event in Jakarta, according to the Channel NewsAsia report.

Bahlil did not identify any country. A day earlier, he raised the possibility of not renewing gas export contracts with neighbouring countries, citing the need to prioritise Indonesia’s domestic energy requirements.

President Prabowo Subianto had also called for Indonesia to safeguard natural resources and put national interests first, Channel NewsAsia said. About 30% of Indonesia’s natural gas production is currently exported, while 70% is used domestically, according to Indonesian state news agency Antara as cited by Channel NewsAsia.

SKK Migas did not link Saturday’s gas diversion to those political remarks. Channel NewsAsia said it had asked Indonesia’s presidential palace for comment and had not received a response at publication.

Singapore imports natural gas through pipelines from Indonesia and Malaysia, and liquefied natural gas, or LNG, from international suppliers. LNG is gas cooled into liquid form so it can be shipped by sea rather than moved through pipelines.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said in a parliamentary reply in September last year that Singapore’s existing gas import contracts with Indonesia were due to expire at the end of 2028.

Gan, who is also Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Trade), said Indonesia’s growing domestic gas demand could affect its ability to export gas to other countries. He said no single country accounted for more than 30% of Singapore’s gas imports in 2024.

Gan also said Singapore was building a second LNG terminal, expected to be operational by the end of the decade, to expand its ability to import gas from global suppliers.

The scale of the supply effect is not known. Channel NewsAsia said it was unclear what share of Singapore’s overall gas supply is affected by the reduction, or whether the cut will affect electricity generation or prices.

Channel NewsAsia said it had contacted Singapore’s Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry. Singapore’s existing gas import contracts with Indonesia are due to expire at the end of 2028, according to Gan’s parliamentary reply cited by Channel NewsAsia.

Source: news report, Channel NewsAsia, Oct. 24