Kazakhstan, RI to form joint oil, gas exploration team
Saturday, April 16 2016 - 04:26 AM WIB
The paper said that the signing of the MoU, which was initiated by Indonesia and encompasses oil, gas and other energy sectors, was previously scheduled for an earlier date, but was postponed due to technical difficulties.
Kazakhstan Ambassador to Indonesia, Askhat T. Orazbay, was quoted as saying that Indonesia?s oil and gas giant Pertamina had shown interest in oil and gas exploration of the vast reserves in the Central Asian nation, which is the second-biggest oil and gas producer among former Soviet Union countries.
?We have been negotiating for exploration in West Kazakhstan,? he told The Post on the sidelines of a press conference.
According to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries? (OPEC) monthly oil market report, Kazakhstan?s production could reach 1.56 million barrels of oil per day (bopd) this month.
So far, the non-OPEC member managed to produce an average 1.62 million bopd from January to February this year. Furthermore, Kazakhstan is estimated to have around 30 billion barrels of crude oil reserves.
Kazakhstan?s Oil and Gas Ministry recorded that it exported 1.4 million bopd to China, Italy, the Netherlands, France and Austria in 2013.
Although Orazbay could not disclose when the energy agreement would be signed, he was optimistic that it would be completed soon as Indonesia officially agreed on Friday to be a participant of Kazakhstan?s EXPO 2017, which would be held in its capital Astana with the theme ?Future Energy?.
The international exhibition, which will be held from July 1 to Sept. 30 next year, will host 81 official participants in cooperation with 14 international organizations. Kazakhstan estimates that around 5 million visitors will attend the exhibition.
Commissioner of EXPO 2017, Rapil Zhoshybayev, said they had chosen the theme to support Kazakhstan ambitious goal of having 50 percent of its energy consumption coming from renewable and alternative sources by 2050.
Zhoshybayev said Indonesia, which will be given a 633.77 meter-square pavilion at the exhibition, would be a major player as Kazakhstan wanted to learn from the former about ways it could develop its vast renewable resources.
?We know that businesses in Indonesia are working towards that direction, creating technologies and conditions for this kind of energy. We also know that Indonesia possesses almost 75 percent of the world?s hydro resources and also, Indonesia has a well-developed agriculture sector and has good biomass development technology, which Kazakhstan is interested in,? he said.
The Indonesian government has previously estimated that the country has around 28 gigawatts (GW) of geothermal and 75 GW of hydropower potential. The total potential of renewable energy is estimated to reach more than 300,000 megawatts (MW).
Meanwhile, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry?s director general for renewable energy and energy conservation, Rida Mulyana, said the 2017 exhibition was a good opportunity for Indonesia to rope in investors for its efforts to reach its target of 23 percent of the country?s energy consumption coming from renewable sources by 2025.
?Apart from our participation, we will also meet with representatives from other countries who are also experienced in the renewable energy and energy conservation fields. There may also be investment offers to develop Indonesia?s renewable energy,? he said.(*)