Indonesia to become net oil importer next year

Indonesia will become a net oil importer beginning next year, much earlier than initially expected due to the fast depletion of the country?s oil reserves, Kompas daily reported on Wednesday.

President director of the state owned oil and gas company Pertamina, Baihaki Hakim, said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the country?s oil production had dropped by 10 percent much faster than the decline in the demand which reached about five percent.

"The decline is in line with the depletion of the crude oil reserves. The total production which reached about 1.2 million barrels per day last year has dropped by about 50,000 barrels per day," Baihaki said. Baihaki earlier estimated that Indonesia would become a net oil importer, a condition where the number of oil imports exceeds the total exports, in 2020.

According to Baihaki, during the first three months of this year, Indonesia?s total oil exports were about 9,839 million barrels while imports had reached a total of 34,124 million barrels.

Rachmat Sudibjo, the chairman of BPMIGAS, the government?s agency in charge of oil and gas exploration and production, said that the decline in the oil production was also partly contributed by security problem in several oil production areas such as in the oil blocks operated by PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia in Riau, BP Indonesia in West Java and ExxonMobil in Aceh.

Rachmat was speaking after the signing of a memorandum agreement between the agency and the police in Jakarta on Tuesday. Under the MOU agreement, BPMIGAS and the police will cooperate in coping with security problem in oil production areas. (*)