Page 8 - AsianOil Week 16 2021

AsianOil SOUTHEAST ASIA AsianOil

Calls for Indonesian

upstream reforms mount

Upstream watchdog SKK Migas is pushing for the government to
do more to increase the attraction of the country’s upstream

COMMENTARY WHILE Indonesia appears increasingly unlikely Drumming up investment
to meet its 2030 oil and gas production targets, SKK Migas head Dwi Soetjipto said on April
the struggle to achieve them is forcing upstream 20 that the country would need around $25bn
WHAT: regulator SKK Migas to call for further policy per year of investment in the oil and gas sector
Indonesia will struggle reforms. between now and 2030 to realise the govern-
to attract the investment The government has been urging the coun- ment’s production targets.
needed to deliver its 2030 try’s oil and gas developers to do more to help The Energy Ministry has set an oil and gas
oil and gas production meet both its 1mn barrel per day (bpd) oil target investment target of $17.59bn for 2021, up
goals. as well as its natural gas target of 12bn cubic feet 45% from $12.1bn in 2020. Upstream pro-
(339.84mn cubic metres) per day. jects are expected to contribute $12.38bn,
WHY: After it emerged earlier this month, however, while downstream investment should reach
The country’s licensing that the country’s developers had marginally $5.2bn.
and land acquisition missed their first-quarter production targets, “The oil and gas industry requires large
process is still too Indonesian Energy Minister Arifin Tasrif singled investment and high technology because this
bureaucratic, according out a number of companies and projects that he industry has high risks and competition between
to SKK Migas. felt should be doing more to boost output. [the region’s] countries is quite tough,” local news
First-quarter production averaged 1.86mn agency Antara quoted Soetjipto as saying in a
WHAT NEXT: barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), or webinar.
Production goals are 99.2% of the government’s target. SKK Migas, Of the country’s 128 oil and gas basins
likely to be missed, but meanwhile, has set a 2021 production target of only 20 are in production, according to
this could spur on further 705,000 bpd of oil and 5.64 bcf (152.13 mcm) per Energy Ministry data cited by the news-
upstream reforms. day of gas. wire. Soetjipto said: “This potential is still
While US super-majors ExxonMobil and very large and challenging because we have
Chevron came under scrutiny, state-owned to invite investors to be willing to carry out
Pertamina also caught the official’s eye. But SKK exploration.”
Migas appears to have had enough and is now The official’s comments came shortly after
calling on the government to do more from its SKK Migas secretary Taslim Yunus said the gov-
end to help attract the level of investment needed ernment needed to streamline and speed up the
to make the 2030 goal a reality. upstream licensing process.

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 16 22•April•2021