The Oil And Gas Sector Is Targeted To Absorb US $ 17.5 Billion In Investment Throughout 2021

Offshore oil and gas exploration activities (Photo: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) is targeting the oil and gas or oil and gas sector to absorb investment of 17.5 billion US dollars for the 2021 business period. This target is an increase of 45 percent compared to 2020.

Director General of Oil and Gas of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Tutuka Ariadji, said that the projection is also the government's effort to accelerate the national economic recovery.

"Regarding the issue of increasing investment for recovery from pandemic conditions, there are strategies to increase oil and gas investment," he said in a virtual press conference Monday, January 18.

Tutuka added, the first step taken by the government was to apply flexibility in the form of a Gross Split Production Sharing Contract (PSC) or PSC Cost Recovery contract. This has been determined by the Minister of ESDM Arifin Tasrif in the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation Number 12 of 2020.

The government is also intensively promoting the potential of 128 basins in Indonesia where 68 basins have not been developed, opening up upstream oil and gas data access (open data) for investors with a membership system to providing a scheme of proposing incentives for the development of remote areas and deep sea

Meanwhile, in pursuing downstream investment targets, the government is collaborating with business entities to build new oil refineries (Gross Root Refinery or GRR) and refinery capacity development (Refinery Development Master Plan or RDMP).

The government is also committed to simplifying downstream licensing, creating affordable natural gas prices, encouraging the promotion of integrated oil and gas infrastructure development, and supporting ministerial decisions regarding the change of diesel fuel to gas as outlined in Ministerial Decree No.13 of 2020.

"The oil and gas subsector is still the flagship for the implementation of regional development and it is proven that in 2020 it will bring in investment of 12.09 billion US dollars from the target of 13.36 billion US dollars," he concluded.