Last week, Indian public sector firm Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) announced plans to invest $2.1 billion over the next four years in exploration and production…
READ MOREIndonesia's Energy Industry
in figures
Oil reserves2.4 billion barrels
Oil production692,000 bopd
Gas reserves1.3 tcm
Gas production59.3 bcm
Eastern potential
Indonesia’s oil and gas industry is a key element in the country’s historic economic development. First oil was discovered in North Sumatra in 1883, which led to the establishment of super-major Royal Dutch Shell in 1890. Production of hydrocarbons continues to be a crucial part of the economy and is increasing in significance as reserves are gradually lowered and local consumption rises. Despite being Southeast Asia’s second largest economy, the government has struggled with making its upstream plays attractive to foreign investors in the modern era due to what are seen as protectionist policies and a history of corruption.
The OPEC member’s upstream and natural gas activities are overseen by SKK Migas. The task force has initiated an ambitious roadmap to shake up the industry and recoup its losses, attract investment and bring the industry back to its former peak in the 1990s. NOC Pertamina is the dominant player in the upstream sector, and has been joined by international players such as China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Total E&P Indonesia, ConocoPhillips, BP Tangguh and ExxonMobil Indonesia. The island nation’s prospective gas plays are mainly found on offshore basins that are not associated with its crude production. E&P operations on its coal bed methane and shale gas are being pushed by the state as a key economic lifeline for the nation.
Indonesia is a large player in the global LNG export market. In the 1990’s it accounted for one-third of international trade of the resource. However it has lost it market dominance due to a rise in LNG exports from competitors such as Qatar, Australia and the US. The country remains a significant regional supplier of LNG, with Japan, South Korea and China among its top buyers.
The Asian nation is also seeking investment in its downstream and midstream sectors. Indonesia boasts a large array of refineries. However, the country’s refining capacities are inefficient for its demand. Indonesia relies on imports to fulfil its petroleum usage. Pertamina owns and operates most of the country’s refining capacity. The country has no international pipelines for petroleum trade and maritime transport remains a crucial component of its energy value chain. State-run Perusahaan Gas Negara manages more than 90% of the country’s midstream infrastructure.
Indonesia's largest power plant is ramping up its deliveries of biomass fuel as part of a bid to shift to more sustainable…
READ MOREFugro has won a contract to provide marine surveying at Inpex's 9.5-million-tpy Abadi LNG project in Indonesia.
READ MOREEni has completed its acquisition of Neptune Energy’s oil and gas assets for USD 4.9 billion.
READ MORESameer Mohammed, CEO and managing director of Ocean Oilfield Integrated Solutions, talks to The Energy Year about how the…
READ MOREIndonesia has changed its current oil and gas contract terms to incentivise participation in its upstream sector, including…
READ MORESembcorp Industries has signed a USD 1.41-billion gas sales agreement with local independent Medco Energi Internasional to…
READ MOREJero Wacik, Indonesia’s minister of energy and mineral resources since October 2011, discusses recent regulations on upstream oil and gas activity as well as the…
READ MORES. Iswaran is currently a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and the second minister for both home affairs and trade and Industry. Responsible for energy…
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