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Indonesia may be active again in OPEC, official says
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry says that Indonesia may again become an active member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), after suspending its membership for the second time in November last year
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Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan (right) shakes hands with United Arab Emirates (UAE) Energy Minister Suhail Mohammed Faraj Al Mazrouei after their meeting in Jakarta on May 18.
(Antara/ Aprillio Akbar)
T
he Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry says that Indonesia may again become an active member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), after suspending its membership for the second time in November last year.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had requested Indonesia to end its inactive membership in the organization.
In response to the request, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan sent a letter to OPEC on May 25, saying that Indonesia was ready to be active again in OPEC on the condition that Indonesia would not be required to cut its oil production, considering that Indonesia's daily production had already been declining.
Ministry spokesman Sujatmiko said if Indonesia finally decided to be active again in OPEC, it would take more action to balance conflicting interests among member countries.
“Indonesia has long history in OPEC. [With this standing,] Indonesia will help smooth OPEC's internal mechanism,” he added as reported by kompas.com.
Indonesia suspended its OPEC membership for the first time in 2008 after the country became a net importer of the commodity.
Indonesia restored its active OPEC membership in early 2016, but decided to suspend its membership again on Nov. 30, 2016, after the organization required Indonesia to cut production by 5 percent.
The minister said that Indonesia could not accept the requirement. “As a net importer, the production cut does not benefit us,” Jonan added. (bbn)
