TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Seen from any perspectives, the decision made by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ignasius Jonan to temporarily withdraw from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is the right movement.
Following the withdrawal, Indonesia does not have to comply with the decision made at the OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria on Wednesday last week that requires the Indonesian Government to cut oil production by 37,000 barrels per day.
The cut is part of the OPEC programs to cut global oil production by 1,2 million barrels per day starting January next year.
As a country that depends its revenues on oil and gas production, the production cut will certainly bring negative impacts for the health of the State Budget.
Besides, the State Budget is currently experiencing deficit due to the shrinking tax revenues.
It is estimated that from the production cut, the state will lose revenues worth US$ 2 million (Rp 18.9 billion) per day.
The government’s rejection to OPEC is also a smart decision.
The cut in oil production will strengthen global oil price.
Shortly after the decision was made, the global oil price surged by 10 percent into US$ 50 per barrel.
By letting OPEC major countries to cut their oil production, Indonesia can reap benefits from the rising price of oil.
Form the political perspective, Indonesia’s move can be possibly understood by other OPEC members considering that Indonesia’s oil production is very low compared to the production of other countries.
This year, the government has set target of oil production of 820,000 barrels per day.
The amount is only 2.4 percent from the total OPEC member production which is 33.6 million barrels per day.
Jonan’s decision to temporarily withdraw Indonesia from OPEC is actually not firm yet.
The minister should have permanently withdraw Indonesia from OPEC membership.
As a net oil importing country, Indonesia does not receive many benefits by becoming a member of OPEC.
Even every year, the government has to pay billions of rupiah as contribution fee of OPEC member.
In 2009, when Indonesia left OPEC, the fee reached US$ 3,1 million (Rp 42 billion) per year, in addition to transportation and accommodation costs that must be spent for state officials every time they attend OPEC meetings.
If the government is still worried about the safety of oil supply, Indonesia can become an observer at OPEC, just like Russia and some other countries.
So, without having to have a binding commitment with that organization, Indonesia can maintain communication with oil producing countries in the world.
Another reason that states Indonesia needs to maintain its OPEC memberships in order to get oil supply at a lower price cannot be accepted either.
The fact is, the price of oil that Indonesia enjoys from year to year is always high.
The government does not have to be ashamed of being inconsistent either because it just rejoined OPEC in early 2016.
As the one who determine public policies, Jonan should put national interests above other considerations.
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