Indonesia eyes oil purchases from Russia, media report

JAKARTA, March 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia is looking to purchase oil from Russia to meet its domestic supply needs, local media reported on Tuesday, citing the energy minister.

Bahlil Lahadalia said the move was considered after the rise of crude oil prices following conflict in the Middle East and the United States issuing a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products stranded at sea.

"Every country is a possibility. What's important for us now is ensuring the supply," Bahlil was quoted as saying by Bloomberg Technoz.

His remarks were also reported by Katadata, and also state news media Antara, which said Indonesia was also looking into cooperation with Brunei.

Indonesia's crude imports from Saudi Arabia plunged to 23,000 barrels per day in March, down from 104,000 bpd in February, Kpler data showed.

Pertamina Pride, a Very Large Crude Carrier belonging to Indonesia's state energy firm Pertamina, is among those stuck in the Gulf since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, LSEG data showed. It was loaded with 2 million barrels of Saudi crude on February 28, according to Kpler data.

Indonesia is preparing budget cuts for some government programmes if the global oil price remains high and would issue the plan soon, its finance minister said on Monday.