RI retains OPEC membership

Indonesia will not relinquish its membership in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries despite the country's continued deficit in the international oil trade, Detikcom and Xinhua reported on Thursday.

"I and the foreign minister (Hassan Wirajuda) have agreed that we will not quit OPEC," Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro was quoted by the Detikcom news website as saying

Calls are mounting for the government to leave OPEC to save the high annual fee and because the country is no longer a major oil producer.

Indonesia's oil production has fallen to 995,000 barrels per day from the budget estimate of 1.08 million barrels.

The oil and gas sector contributed revenues of 103.7 trillion rupiah (US$11.09 billion) in 2005, or about 25.2 percent lower than the target.

The country's oil trade began to run a surplus in the last few months, with the Central Statistics Agency reporting that first-quarter oil and gas exports stood at US$5.15 billion against imports of US$3.63 billion.(*)