Oil output below target, contributes less to state budget last year

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Monday that Indonesian oil output stood at an average 995,000 barrels per day in 2005, less than the target of 1.075 million, causing the government to receive lower than expected revenue from the industry.

The government got Rp 103.7 trillion in revenue from the oil and gas sector, which is 25.2 percent lower than the target of Rp 138.6 trillion, set in the 2005 state budget. The Rp 103.7 trillion revenue includes Rp 72.8 trillion in revenue from oil (28.8 percent lower than target) and Rp 30.9 trillion from gas (15.1 percent lower than target)

?The low realization of the oil and gas revenue resulted from the development of crude price on the international market, (low) lifting and the development of the rupiah?s rate against the U.S. dollar,? she said in a hearing with the House of Representatives.

Indonesian crude?s price averaged US$51.81 a barrel in the period of November 2004 to November 2005.

The minister also said that the government?s revenue from the mining sector reached Rp 3.1 trillion last year, or 14.5 percent higher than the target of Rp 2.8 trillion set in the state budget. (Godang)