Mining and oil and gas sectors seen to remain attractive this year

The country?s mining and oil and gas sectors will remain attractive for foreign investors this year, Jakarta-based Bisnis Indonesia reported Monday.

The paper quoted the Economic, Industry and Trade Advisory Group (Econit), a leading Indonesian consultancy firm, as saying that as in the last year, the mining and oil and gas sectors had the potential to attract major foreign investment this year.

?Almost 20 percent of the Asia Pacific natural gas resources are located in Indonesia. This will potentially attract investors,? the company?s reports said.

Indonesia, which today controls 60 percent of the world?s liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, has the potential to further increase its market share, given the large reserves discovered in the Natuna area, East Kalimantan and Papua, the report said.

?The demands for LNG will exceed the demands for oil due to the technological development and the increasing demand for environmental protection,? it said.

The report noted however that in the near term, the demands for oil and gas would marginally decrease to the economic slowdown in several industrial countries and the Afghanistan war.

The country?s mining sector will also grow this year given the large mining reserves owned by the country, the report said.

Today, Indonesia has 44 billion tons of coal resources, including five billion tons of proven reserves and 2,500 tons of gold resources, the report said, adding today Indonesia produces 78 million tons of coal and 117 tons of gold per year. (*)