01 Dec 2016
The press release from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in Jakarta on Thursday stated that the decision for the temporary suspension was taken at the 171st OPEC conference in Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday, November 30.
Jonan, who attended the conference, said that the government took the suspension measure following the decision at the OPEC conference to cut crude oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day, excluding condensate.
Based on the decision, the OPEC conference requested Indonesia to cut around five percent of its production, or around 37 thousand barrels per day.
"Meanwhile, the requirement for oil revenues for the country is still great," he said.
On the other hand, according to him, the 2017 National Budget Draft stipulates that oil production in 2017 should only be reduced by five thousand barrels compared to that of 2016.
Therefore, he continued, the production cut that is acceptable for Indonesia is five thousand barrels per day.
Jonan also added that as a "net importer" of crude oil, the production cut will clearly not benefit Indonesia because the oil prices will, theoretically, increase.
Head of Communication and Public Information Service at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Sujatmiko said that the suspension is the best decision for all OPEC members.
"Therefore, the decision to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day can be executed and on the other hand Indonesia is not bound by the decisions taken and it is in accordance with national interests," he said.
With the suspension of membership, Indonesia has now suspended its membership in OPEC twice.
The first suspension was in 2008, which became effective in 2009.
However, Indonesia decided to become an active member again at the beginning of 2016.
Editor: Aditia Maruli
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