OPEC secretary general to resign soon: Report

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said Thursday that he will resign as secretary general of OPEC by the end of the year to concentrate on his ministerial duties, Associated Press reported.

Purnomo - who is scheduled to give up the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' presidency in January - was appointed OPEC secretary general earlier this year after the group failed to pick an official for the post.

He had said earlier that he would only continue as OPEC secretary general if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono failed to retain him as mines and energy minister after September presidential elections. He was reappointed to the post in October.

Purnomo was scheduled to remain OPEC secretary general until a permanent replacement was found. It remains unclear who will replace Purnomo, but one possibility is the organization's next president, who will come from Kuwait.

"I will concentrate more on domestic matters," Purnomo told Indonesian legislators in a hearing.

Purnomo's ministry is under pressure to revive investment in the oil, gas and mining sectors.

For the first time, Indonesia became a net crude oil importer earlier this year because of dwindling crude oil production after years of exploitation. Investment in the mining sector is also slumping because of conflicting regulations and high taxes. (*)