Data from the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) showed that oil lifting only amounted to 787,800 barrels of oil per day (bopd), 3.3 percent lower than its lifting target of 815,000 bopd.

SKKMigas secretary Budi Agustyono attributed the low oil lifting to bad weather. "Bad weather made it difficult for some ships to dock at the beginning of this year. This caused production to pause for one to two days," he said in Cilegon, Banten on Friday.

(Read also: Enhanced oil recovery may be mandatory for new contracts)

Indonesia's oil production has continued to decline in the past few years, dropping significantly from about 1 million bopd in the 1970s. The decline was mostly caused by aging wells and a lack of new discoveries.

Meanwhile, gas lifting for the first quarter has exceeded expectations. Data showed that there was a gas lifting rate of 6,503 million standard cubic feet (mmscfd), 1 percent above the 6,440 mmscfd target for this year.

In trying to slow down the declining oil production rate, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry is currently considering a ministerial decree that may compel new contracts for existing oil fields to include proposals for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) activities

"We want it so that when [contractors] submit their proposals, they already have plans for future EOR activities in the field," oil and gas director general IGN Wiratmaja Puja said on Wednesday. (bbn)

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