Contrary to earlier reports the Indonesian government has not decided yet to completely phase out production and consumption of low-octane gasoline (known as premium) in Indonesia. Last week state-owned energy company Pertamina said that premium, a subsidized fuel that was introduced under the Suharto regime in order to support the population’s purchasing power (by making transportation costs artificially low) would be gradually replaced by 90-octane pertalite, a higher-grade fuel, starting from May 2015.

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In line with other Asian emerging market currencies, the Indonesian rupiah is depreciating against the US dollar on Monday’s trading day (20/04). According to the Bloomberg Dollar Index, Indonesia’s currency had depreciated 0.25 percent to IDR 12,882 per US dollar at 13:00 pm local Jakarta time. However, Head of Research at NH Korindo Securities Reza Priyambada believes that the currency cannot depreciate much further as positive economic data provides enough support for the rupiah.

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Indonesian Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan said that the Cilamaya port project in Karawang (West Java) may be tendered this year to the private sector. The central government is currently engaged in the preparation of the terms of reference (TOR) for the project. Through the construction of the Cilamaya port, which will occupy 2,000 hectares of land some 65 kilometers east of Jakarta, the government aims to reduce the country’s logistics costs and ease traffic at the Tanjung Priok port, the largest Indonesian seaport, in Jakarta.

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Due to sharply fallen global crude oil prices the Indonesian government announced on Friday (16/01) that prices of fuels (low-octane gasoline and diesel) will be cut by an average of 14 percent, effective from Monday (19/01). The price of gasoline will drop 13 percent to IDR 6,600 (USD $0.53) per liter and diesel by 15 percent to IDR 6,400 (USD $0.51) per liter. Lastly, the government also reduced the price of Pertamina’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 4.2 percent to IDR 129,000 per 12-kilogram-cannister.

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International credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service is positive about the subsidized fuel price hike that was conducted by the government of Indonesia on Monday (17/11) as it shows commitment of the government to implement reforms that support the strengthening of the economy, such as curbing Indonesia’s fiscal and current account deficits. Moody’s estimates that these developments are positive for the country’s sovereign rating (now at Baa3/stable) as well as for state-owned energy firm Pertamina (Baa3/stable).

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The government of Indonesia will soon decide on the future of the Mahakam oil and gas block in East Kalimantan. The existing contracts to operate the block will expire in 2017 and therefore the government needs to make a decision about the future operator(s). The current operators of the Mahakam block are Total E&P Indonesia (subsidiary of France-based oil and gas giant Total S.A.) and Japanese oil company Inpex Corporation. Both companies have a 50 percent stake in the Mahakam block.

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Indonesia’s seventh president Joko Widodo, who will take office on 20 October 2014, wants to conduct several reforms in Indonesia’s energy sector in an attempt to combat illegal practices and optimize state income. Firstly, Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, plans to audit operations of state-owned Pertamina’s energy trading unit Petral to halt alleged fuel smuggling and corruption. Secondly, Jokowi wants to impose major changes at Pertamina. Lastly, the president-elect wants to curb coal exports to ensure domestic supplies for power plants.

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Indonesia may achieve its oil target of 900,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2015 as the Banyu Urip field in Cepu (East Java) is expected to start production in February next year. Indonesian upstream oil and gas regulator SKKMigas stated that the oil field has now been completed for 92.5 percent. The oilfield’s early production facility is already producing 30,000 bpd. This is expected to increase to 165,000 bpd once production has reached its peak in mid-2015. This peak level is estimated to last for three years.

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Fully state-owned energy company Pertamina announced that it has raised the selling price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 23 percent in an effort to cut losses from subsidized gas sales. The company said that it incurred losses of IDR 2.5 to 3.0 trillion in the first half of 2014 as a result of 12 kilogram LPG canisters sales. These LPG sales are heavily subsidized as the government determines a fixed price, below the market value. However, the government does not reimburse this difference in selling price and market value.

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Pertamina Hulu Energi, subsidiary of state-owned energy firm Pertamina, has been officially appointed as the new operator of the Siak oil block in Riau (Sumatra) after the contract of Chevron Siak Indonesia (CSI) had expired on 27 November 2013. The Indonesian government decided not to renew the production sharing contract (PSC) with Chevron, instead appointing Pertamina Hulu Energi as new operator of the oil block (in line with the government's aim to have more domestic control over the country's natural resources).

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This year, Indonesia will have to face declining production numbers in its oil and gas sector. Gas output is assumed to decline by 14.77 percent compared to last year, while oil output will reach similar levels as in 2012, provided that there are no disruptions due to bad weather and leakages (a prerequisite that will be hard to meet).

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