VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia's exploration costs over the past two decades remained low, constituting one percent of the world-class mining companies' exploration costs, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif stated while quoting S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The low exploration costs were attributed to the fact that exploration activities in Indonesia had yet to be conducted massively, Tasrif remarked during a virtual launch of the book "An Introduction Into The Geology of Indonesia" by Prof. Dr R. P. Koesoemadinata on Monday.

For its part, the government has encouraged massive exploration to achieve the required energy deposits. Indonesia currently requires additional oil deposits of one million barrels of oil per day (bopd), he noted.

To support exploration activities in the country, the energy and mineral resources minister issued Regulation Number 12 of 2020 on models of oil and gas cooperation contracts, Tasrif remarked.

The regulation stipulates the models of cooperation contracts and the flexibility of production sharing contract, including the cost recovery and gross split scheme, he explained.

"Massive exploration is direly needed. Our oil and gas deposits continue to decline. The same also holds true for the mineral and coal mining sub-sector that still requires exploration activities," he stated.

The minister highlighted that the government was encouraging giant discoveries in oil and gas blocks in 68 potential offshore areas in the country.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s data shows that Indonesia currently holds oil stocks of 3.77 billion barrels, gas stocks of 77.3 trillion cubic feet, and coal stocks of 37.6 billion tons. (Antaranews)