RI current oil output at OPEC new quota: Official
Saturday, January 20 2001 - 05:00 AM WIB
Indonesia did not need to conduct a reduction program for its oil output following OPEC's recent decision to cut its output by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) because the country now produced oil at the new quota set by the oil cartel, a senior official at the ministry of energy and mineral resources said Friday.
Director general of oil and gas Rachmat Sudibyo told reporters Indonesia now produced about 1.3 million bpd of oil against the new OPEC quota of 1.306 million bpd.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided on Wednesday in its ministerial meeting in Vienna to cut the output of the 11-member organization by 1.5 bpd to boost the oil price to the grouping's target price range of US$22-$28 per barrel. Indonesia's oil quota was reduced from 1.384 million bpd to 1.306 million bpd.
Rachmat said Indonesia had been seeking to increase its oil output, by among others operating marginal fields and higher-cost fields, to meet the previous quota of 1.384 million bpd when OPEC decided to cut production.
The government would thus suspend the output increase program following OPEC's output cutback policy, he said.
Rachmat said the impact of the OPEC output cut police on the oil price remained to be seen in the next several weeks, but he was sure that the policy would help stabilize the oil price. (R. Amoros)