Five high-profile consortia have expressed their interest to develop the USD $2 billion Java I steam & gas power plant in Muara Tawar, Bekasi (West Java). State-owned utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), owner of this project and the company that is responsible for distributing electricity to the nation's 255 million people, said it is scheduled to tender this mega-project in June 2016. Indonesia's electrification ratio (the percentage of Indonesian households that are connected to the nation's electricity grid) is low at around 82 percent, implying there are still dozens of millions of Indonesians who lack access to electricity.

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The government of Indonesia plans to offer 19 geothermal blocks to investors in 2016 through tenders and direct assignment. Yunus Saifulhak, Chief of Geothermal Power at the Energy Ministry's Directorate General, said eight blocks will be offered through open tenders, while the 11 remaining geothermal power blocks will be given to state-owned enterprises. These 19 blocks are part of a larger package consisting of 27 geothermal blocks with a total combined power capacity of 1,535 megawatt (MW) that is to be offered to private and state-owned investors in the 2016-2017 period.

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A consortium consisting of Indonesia's state-owned oil & gas company Pertamina and Japan-based general trading company Marubeni Corp has teamed up with American multinational conglomerate corporation General Electric (GE) to bid for success in a USD $2 billion power plant project in Bekasi (West Java) tendered by Indonesia's state-owned utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN). Reportedly, this 1,600 MW power plant, named Jawa I, is set to become the largest gas and steam power plant in Indonesia.

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The government of Indonesia wants to construct the Bontang oil refinery in East Kalimantan through a private-public partnership (PPP). Sudirman Said, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, said construction of the Bontang oil refinery is scheduled to commence in 2017. State-owned energy company Pertamina will be in charge of the project and is now searching for investors to participate in the project which is estimated to require a total of USD $14.5 billion in investment.

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Although Indonesia's B15 biodiesel program, which refers to the government's program to blend 85 percent of diesel with a mandatory 15 percent of fatty acid methyl ester (derived from palm oil), is no success yet, the government is expected to introduce the B20 biodiesel program (raising the mandatory content of fatty methyl ester in biofuel to 20 percent) in early 2016. To support the B20 program, eleven companies are ready to supply biodiesel to state-owned energy company Pertamina and publicly-listed petroleum and basic chemicals distributor AKR Corporindo between November 2015 and April 2016.

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As Indonesia's oil production is expected to rise while a new oil refinery in Tuban (East Java) has started to come online, Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources targets to stop imports of diesel fuel altogether and cut imports of gasoline fuel by 30 percent in 2016. The refinery in Tuban is owned by Trans Pacific Petrochemical Indotama, which was recently acquired by Indonesia's state-owned energy company Pertamina.

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During his state visit to the USA, Indonesian President Joko Widodo told US President Barack Obama that Indonesia intends to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Currently, 12 countries have joined the TPP, including the USA and Japan, thus creating the world's largest free trade area (an area that covers about 40 percent of world trade). By many analysts the TPP is regarded a counterbalance to the big economic influence of China.

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In an effort to support the ailing Indonesian rupiah, state-owned energy company Pertamina will cut its foreign exchange purchases on the spot market by around 50 percent. Pertamina together with state utility firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) account for about half of Indonesia's daily foreign exchange (forex) transactions as these companies require US dollars for fuel purchases and overseas debt settlements.

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The new grade of gasoline, called pertalite, has been launched in Indonesia by state-owned energy company Pertamina. On Friday (24/07), this new (unsubsidized) fuel was sold for the first time in the cities Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya for the price of IDR 8,400 (USD $0.62) per liter. Its debut in 101 gas stations across these three cities is a test (lasting for a few weeks) in order to know consumers’ reaction. Pertalite (90-octane level) is the new produced fuel by Pertamina and will gradually replace the low-octane gasoline known as premium.

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Indonesian state-owned energy company Pertamina raised the price of pertamax, a 92-octane gasoline, by 2.3 percent per 1 May 2015 as the result of recovering global oil prices. On Java, Indonesia’s most populous island, the price of pertamax rose by IDR 200 to IDR 8,800 (USD $0.68) per liter. Outside Java, fuel prices are generally more expensive due to high logistics costs. The price of premium, the low-octane gasoline which was heavily subsidized until the start of the year, was left unchanged at IDR 7,400 (USD $0.57) per liter.

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The government of Indonesia plans to add new fuel refineries soon after such development has been postponed for many years. Today, Indonesia's total of oil refineries have roughly the same combined production capacity as a decade ago, indicating that limited progress has been made. In fact, domestic oil output has experienced a steady downward trend for almost two decades due to a lack of exploration and investments amid weak government management, bureaucracy, an unclear regulatory framework and legal uncertainty.

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It remains difficult for Indonesia to achieve oil production targets that are set by the Indonesian government. In fact, it is unlikely that Indonesia will meet this year’s revised oil lifting target of 818,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) as set in the Revised 2014 State Budget. In the first half of 2014, Indonesia recorded an oil production rate of 797,000 bpd only. For almost two decades, Indonesia’s oil sector has been in a state of decline, evidenced by falling production rates, due to a lack of investments and aging oil fields.

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General Director of Oil and Gas at the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Edy Hermantoro said at the 38th IPA Convention and Exhibition on Friday (23/05) that the Indonesian government plans to tender a total of 21 blocks of oil and gas in a first bidding round in 2014. This involves 13 conventional oil and gas blocks and eight non-conventional (shale) oil and gas blocks. The government expects that these oil and gas blocks will add 3.5 billion barrels of oil and 107.7 trillion cubic (tcf) of gas resources.

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Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the Indonesia rupiah exchange rate had depreciated 0.18 percent to IDR 12,113 per US dollar at 14:45 local Jakarta time on Monday (20/01). The most important factor that caused this negative performance was China's slowing economic growth in quarter IV-2013. In the fourth quarter of 2013, China's GDP grew 7.7 percent, down from 7.8 percent in the previous quarter. This slowing growth indicates that China's economic 'recovery' is still fragile (China is among the five most important trade partners of Indonesia).

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The Indonesian government is considering to stop exports of crude palm oil (CPO) to Europe from 2014 onwards as domestic CPO demand in Southeast Asia's largest economy is rising, brought on by the country's biofuel industry which is expected to grow 70 percent next year to 5 million tons. To curtail oil imports, the government stimulates the production of crude palm oil-based biofuel by raising the mandatory content of fatty acid methyl ester (which is made from palm oil) in biodiesel products from 7.5 percent to 10 percent.

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On Friday (29/11), the last trading day of November 2013, the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate continued its downward spiral. The Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate¹ fell 0.39 percent to IDR 11,970 per US dollar amid concern about the winding down of the quantitative easing program, Indonesia's wide current account deficit, a disappointing US dollar-denominated bond auction and surging US dollar demand for earnings repatriation as well as foreign debt payment. Considering the full month of November, the rupiah depreciated 6.61 percent.

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Usage of biodiesel for transportation in Indonesia is expected to reach 7.2 million kiloliter by 2015, a sharp increase from 600,000 kiloliter in the first nine months of 2013. State-owned Pertamina is expected to supply the extra 6.6 million kiloliter of biodiesel. The reason why the Indonesian government is eager to develop palm-based biofuel for transportation purposes is to reduce the country's reliance on the import of expensive diesel fuel. Imports of fuels and gas are the foremost reason that Indonesia is coping with a wide current account deficit.

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Inflationary pressures eased in September 2013 to a 0.35% rate of deflation (mtm), or 8.40% (yoy). The rate of deflation exceeded the projections contained within the Price Monitoring Survey conducted by Bank Indonesia and much lower than inflation expectations by some analysts. Abundant supply in the wake of horticultural harvests (shallots and chilli peppers), triggered a deep correction in food prices. In addition, sliding beef prices also exacerbated further deflationary pressures, with volatile foods recording deflation of 3.38% (mtm).

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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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