Indonesia plans to cut red tape to encourage oil and gas exploration as it looks to revive its domestic oil and gas industry and boost energy security, the new government and president have said. “We must have energy self-sufficiency and we are capable to be self-sufficient,” newly sworn-in President Prabowo Subianto said in his inauguration speech, as carried by Reuters.
As a result, the rate of oil production has been declining, at an average annual rate of 11%, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. Indonesia’s oil production peaked at about 1.6 million barrels per day bpd in the 1990s, but has fallen since, and now stands at below 600,000 bpd.