XINHUA/Indonesia to raise oil production by 1 million bpd in 2013
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JAKARTA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday asked (industries) to increase the country's oil production by one million barrels per day in 2013 from this year's output target of 950,000 barrels per day, in an effort to anticipate the volatile soaring-global oil prices, according to a minister.
The statement came as Indonesia, a net-oil importer country, provides huge oil subsidy that burdens the state budget. "The president asked (industries) to boost oil lifting by one million barrels per day as soon as in 2013," Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Rajasa quoted President Yudhoyono as saying.
Indonesia has trimmed its oil production target for this year from 970,000 barrels per day to 950,000 barrels per day partly due to weather problems and technical problems such as land acquisition and regulations, according to the country's oil and gas watchdog BP Migas.
Last year, Indonesia missed the 950,000 barrels per day oil production target due to leaking at piping.
Rising global oil prices have pushed up Indonesia's oil subsidy so that the government expanded the budget deficit from 1. 8 percent to the GDP to 2.1 percent to the GDP.
To achieve the oil production target, Minister Rajasa said that the government planned to trim the natural decline of oil production from 12 percent to 3 percent, accelerate development of new fields and optimize production at the existing fields.
Furthermore, he said that investment climate in the energy sector must be improved.
"With all the efforts we may reach one million barrels per day oil production," said Rajasa.
Dwindling oil production due to aging wells and lacking of fresh investment has forced Indonesia to exit from the OPEC and become a net-oil importer country.
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