JAKARTA: Indonesia has obtained approval to continue oil and gas operations in Venezuela as it explores alternative energy sources outside regions affected by tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.
Deputy Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno said Indonesia was also looking at investment opportunities in other parts of Latin America in an effort to strengthen its energy security.
“We have just obtained permission to continue operations in Venezuela. We will try to invest in areas around Latin America,” he said on Thursday.
According to media reports, Indonesia’s state-owned oil company Pertamina, through its upstream unit, operates oil assets in Venezuela, where operations were disrupted after the United States (US) suspended licences granted to foreign oil companies operating in the country in 2025.
Havas said Indonesia was simultaneously expanding crude oil supply sources from Africa to reduce its reliance on shipping routes passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We are now working extensively with Algeria, Nigeria, and Angola, and many of our oil supplies come from Africa,” he said.
Asked about the wider impact of tensions affecting the strategic waterway, Havas said the government would continue to monitor global macroeconomic developments, noting that sectors such as oil and gas, plastics, and fertilisers could be affected.
He added that helium supplies could also face disruption, noting that about 30 per cent of global helium comes from Qatar and is used in semiconductor manufacturing. – BERNAMA
