TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan has sent a request letter to rejoin the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The letter was sent on May 24.
The government has given one condition that OPEC will not agree on oil production cut. At the end of last year, member states agreed to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day to recover oil price. During the meeting that was held in Austria, Indonesia decided to withdraw from OPEC.
Sujatmiko said that OPEC will give access to Indonesia to purchase oil directly from producers. The scheme would be more profitable compared to buying oil from traders with more expensive prices. At present, 50 percent of 1.6 million barrels domestic oil consumption is imported.
The decision to join OPEC was first suggested by former energy minister Sudirman Said. Indonesian membership was approved in 168th meeting held in Austria in November 2015. But Indonesia left the organization one year later after being asked to lower production by 37,000 barrels per day.
ROBBY IRFANY