TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi instructed Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif to evaluate the costs of natural gas production in a bid to create competitive selling prices for the industry compared to countries in the ASEAN region.

“There will be an inter-ministerial team to evaluate the costs to produce the gas so that we can ensure that the gas production really matches the costs spent,” Arifin said at the Jakarta Presidential Palace, Monday, July 31, 2023.

Arifin explained that the evaluation of gas production costs is necessary to push for Indonesia's economic structure in the oil and gas sector to be more competitive. Moreover, the country exports the commodities.

“Because of efficient operation, we can get competitive gas to be able to support the development of the domestic industry,” Arifin said.

Apart from the production cost, the President and ministers discussed the grand strategy for natural gas exploration and exploitation. Arifin emphasized the use of natural gas is prioritized for domestic needs, yet the government will not ban natural gas exports given excess production which can boost state revenue.

“67 percent of our gas production has been used domestically. The rest is absorbed. We conduct commercial sales, including export in the form of LNG and pipeline gas,” Minister Arifin said.

Indonesia is one of the world's natural gas producers. In 2021, its reserves amounted to 41.62 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and potential reserves of 18.99 TCF.

Based on the 2022-2030 Indonesian Gas Balance, the country's natural gas production is sufficient to meet domestic demand. In the next 10 years, a gas surplus was even estimated at up to 1,715 million cubic feet per day (MMSCFD).

ANTARA

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