Down, but not out

Falling crude production in recent years has left Asia's only Opec member, Indonesia, as a net oil importer. But plans are under way to lift output and bolster gas exports in a bid to re-assert the country's energy credentials, Martin Clark reports

HIGH OIL PRICES are something of a mixed blessing for Indonesia. The country is still one of the world's top 20 oil producers, pumping a little under 1m barrels a day (b/d), but declining output has led to rising imports, hurting the country's fragile economy badly and raising concerns that worse is yet to come. It is quite an embarrassment for the country's energy minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, the head of Opec. In March, Indonesia became a net crude oil importer, the result of dwindling production over the past decade and rising consumption levels. So serious is the situation—production slipped below 1m b/d for the first time this year—that Indonesia is no longer able to meet its quota com