Indonesia seeks to reduce oil imports by developing alternative energy

By Febry Silaban

Vice Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Susilo Siswoutomo said Indonesia may reduce its oil fuel imports if it is able to develop alternative energy.

He said the country new imports around 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil fuels in order to meet the domestic demand.

?We can reduce the imports of oil fuels by 100 bpd if we can produce bioenergy by 100 million tons per year,? Susilo said during the New and Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTK) Convention and Exhibition in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He said Indonesia has huge potentials to develop biodiesel industry based on crude palm oil which the country has in abundance; and build more hydropower plants, geothermal power plants to reduce reliance on oil fuels.

He said the national new and renewable energy industry is now growing by 6 percent and the government aims to increase the growth rate to 22 percent.

Editing by Johannes Simbolon