Indonesia, a South East Asia emerging economy, set to become the world’s biggest oil importer by 2019. The lack of investment to boost oil reserves as well as productions and the increase in domestic demand for the commodity has lead to Indonesian interest to purchase more crude oil from Nigeria.
Harry Purwanto, Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, stated this in Abuja when he paid a courtesy visit to the Group Managing Director (GMD) of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, explaining that his Country’s President, Joko Widodo, had instructed Indonesia National Oil Company, Pertamina, to direct its attention to Nigeria in its quest to meet that country’s surging energy needs.
According to available statistics, energy demand in Indonesia will touch 6.19 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by 2019, while supply is only expected to reach 6.04 million boepd, according to data from the association.
Oil consumption in Indonesia, a former member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), now stands at 1.4 million barrels of oil per day, while production stands at about 798,000 bopd.
The call by the ambassador signifies the prospects of soaring Nigeria’s market share in Asian emerging economies which include China and India, having lost grounds in crude oil sales in the United State of America due to advances in shale oil exploration in recent years.
Although Indonesia produces 900,000 barrels of crude oil per day, it supplements its 1.4million barrels per day consumption with supplies from Nigeria, 18% and Saudi Arabia, 28%.
Baru, NNPC GMD who welcomed the development, said that the corporation was interested in working with Indonesia on its initiative to replace firewood and kerosene with Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as primary domestic fuel for cooking.
According to him, the corporation was aware of the huge success of the kerosene substitution programme in Indonesia and would like a collaboration to help Nigeria achieve a similar feat.
The GMD said NNPC would also like to partner with Indonesia in the area of bio-fuels production to diversify the nation’s energy mix and meet its energy needs.
He challenged Indonesia to consider participating in the forthcoming bid round in order to realize its aspiration of maintaining a presence in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
The Indonesia Ambassador disclosed that his country looked forward to lifting crude oil directly from Nigeria, rather than through a third-party as is currently the case.
He extended an invitation to the corporation to grace the Indonesia-Nigeria Business Forum holding in Lagos, adding that a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on possible areas of co-operation between the two countries was in the works.
SEYI ANJORIN, Abuja
