Indonesia to cut oil production by 40,000 barrels per day

Indonesia will reduce crude oil production by about 40,000 barrels per day next year in line with the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to cut the world?s crude oil production by 1.5 million barrels a day.

Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Rachmat Sudibyo said in Jakarta Friday that the planned cut in the crude production would not affect the government?s target to produce 1.3 million barrels per day.

With the latest decision, the total production cut that will reach 5 million barrels per day including the 3.5 million barrels earlier approved by the organization, Rachmat said after meeting with Minister of Finance and representatives of the International Monetary Funds (IMF).

According to him, the production cut plan has not yet affected the prices but he said that the current level of between US$22 and $28 barrels per day is still within the target.

Rachmat said that the meeting discussed the government?s plan to raise fuel prices by 30 percent next year. ?However, the mechanism of the price increase has yet been discussed,? he said. (godang)