Indonesia looks to gas to cover growing energy needs

Recent elections and on-going LNG developments highlight the importance of domestic gas demand in the sprawling island nation

Indonesia went to the polls in mid-February, with three leading candidates competing for the presidency. Former Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto appears to have secured an early lead, although the complicated electoral process could potentially take months to conclude across the vast archipelago nation. The candidates have energy policy differences—including over gas use, renewable energy targets and CCUS. At the same time, Indonesia is in the process of expanding its LNG production capacity, although how those additional volumes will be divided between the domestic and export markets remains in question. Aside from Prabowo, the other two main candidates are former governors Anies Baswedan