Govt sets up team to review OPEC membership

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said Monday the government has set up a team to review the country's membership in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

"We have set up a team to study whether we still need to maintain our membership in OPEC," Purnomo told a commission at the House of Representatives (DPR) in a hearing.

Purnomo said membership in OPEC is important for Indonesia, as it helps Indonesian diplomacy with OPEC's members from the Middle East.

Indonesia joined OPEC in 1962, two years after Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela established the group.

Purnomo, who was OPEC's president until the end of last year, added that Indonesia's total crude oil exports for 2004 were still larger than its imports.

The country, OPEC's only Southeast Asian member, produced 952,600 barrels a day of crude in January, below its quota of 1.4 million barrels a day due to dwindling reserves after years of exploration.

Some lawmakers have urged the government to leave OPEC since Indonesia became a net crude oil importer early last year. (godang)