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Commentary: Forget energy self-sufficiency, Indonesia taking easiest route: Imports
The government seems to have thrown in the towel in its quest to attract massive investment into the upstream oil and gas sector, as recently indicated by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan.
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Visitors examine a model of a gas processing facility during the Indogas Exhibition in Jakarta. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira )
T
he government seems to have thrown in the towel in its quest to attract massive investment into the upstream oil and gas sector, as recently indicated by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan.
Jonan, a former banker, is adamant about not providing incentives to attract high-risk capital-intensive investment in the sector or even in renewable energy development in the name of being “pro-people.”
Indonesia, he suggested, should follow in the footsteps of Japan, China and Western Europe where energy security is maintained without having indigenous or sufficient hydrocarbon resources. Indonesia, a former member of oil cartel OPEC, has been importing almost half of its oil consumption for the last decade.
When asked how Indonesia could ensure its energy security, Jonan said in a recent interview, “What’s important is purchasing power. What we are doing [to ensure energy security] is first to ensure that we have purchasing power, and second that we have the technology to develop renewable energy.”
