RI, S. Korea studying oil barter deal
RI, S. Korea studying oil barter deal
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is currently studying the possibility
of bartering its crude oil and natural gas with South Korean
commodities.
Minister of Mines and Energy Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said on
Wednesday his ministry and the Korean industry and trade ministry
were currently evaluating whether the countertrade deal was
practicable.
"We are also studying when and how much crude oil and gas can
be put up for the countertrade," Kuntoro said.
Reports of talks on barter trades between the two countries
emerged during Kuntoro's meeting with his counterpart in South
Korea last week.
South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said
after the meeting that barter trade would be necessary to help
foster the overall trade between the two countries.
It would include crude oil, mineral resources and gas
products, the ministry said then, adding that representatives of
the two governments would meet again soon to continue talk on
details regarding the trade.
Earlier reports said that the South Korean government-owned
Korean Gas (Kogas) was planning to cut several contracts to
purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Indonesia.
The reports cited no specific reasons for the contract
cancellations, and Kuntoro said he had not been informed about
the decision.
The minister denied that the barter trade plan was one of the
country's last resort to maintain its trade relations with South
Korea, another country almost as badly hit as Indonesia by the
economic turmoil sweeping the region.
Common
He said countertrade was a common practice to tighten
bilateral trade relations, and Indonesia had practiced similar
trade systems in the past with other countries.
"We have been doing countertrade with other countries for a
long time, such as with Russia and Kazakhstan," he said.
In Singapore, Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific
Countertrade Association David Hew, told Reuters that
countertrade "is the flavor for the year and years to come."
Hew said currency volatility and extreme liquidity squeezes
across the region had made countertrade more viable, and helped
remove barriers to its growth.
It was the only logical alternative to the widely used U.S.
dollar because the Japanese yen, another main currency used for
international trade, was currently also weakening, he said.
Kuntoro also said on Thursday that the government would remove
all subsidies on oil fuel and electricity tariffs "gradually and
systematically" starting next year.
"All the subsidies will not be lifted instantly, we will do it
on certain commodities first," the minister said. (das)