Govt will use fiscal tool to increase the use of coal and gas

The government will use fiscal and non-fiscal policies to increase the use of gas and coal in the country so that the use of oil could be reduced, Media Indonesia daily reported on Wednesday.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in Jakarta on Tuesday that increasing the use of coal and gas in the country's energy consumption had become the government's main priorities in order to reduce dependence on oil.

Purnomo did not elaborate on the new fiscal and non-fiscal policies, but Coordinating Minister of Economy Abu Rizal had said that the government would issue a regulation this week to ban new industries from using oil in their operational activities.

In addition, Abu Rizal said that the government might also ban gas exports by those who had not yet had any contracts with foreign buyers so that the larger part of the nation's gas production could be used for local consumption.

Purnomo said the government was considering imposing tax on gas and coal exports to lower the exports of the conmmodities in order to increase the use of gas and coal in the country.

Purnomo said that if the use of coal and gas were not increased, the existing oil reserve would last only for 18 years from now. The country's existing gas reserves will last for 60 years and coal reserves will last for 150 years. (*)