Indonesia has been active in the oil and gas industry for over 120 years after the country’s first oil discovery in North Sumatra back in 1885. The number of domestic exploration and production working areas in the upstream industry increased from 107 units in 2002 to 308 units by the end of 2012, as a result of industry investments of about USD 21.3bn in 2012.

Indonesia has become a net importer of oil largely due to maturing fields and rising local demand. In the first quarter of 2013, Indonesia incurred a deficit of USD 3.36bn in oil and gas trading. The country exported USD 8.15bn worth of oil and gas, but imported USD 11.51bn during the same period.

Indonesia had 0.2% of the world’s proven oil reserves at approximately 3.7bn barrels by the end of 2012. Natural gas reserves of the country stood at 2.9 trillion cubic meters in 2012, representing 1.6% of the world’s total reserves. In 2012, Indonesia produced approximately 2.1% of the global natural gas.

Key Points:

• In 2012, approximately USD 16.11bn was invested in the upstream oil and gas industry. Investment in production and development accounted for 64.36% and 20.41%, respectively.

• The number of domestic exploration and production working areas for the upstream industry increased from 107 in 2002 to 308 by the end of 2012.

• Indonesia has identified floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) as a strategic asset to meet the country’s rising demand of gas.

• Indonesia aims to achieve 500 mmscfd of gas from coalbed methane by 2015 and 1,500 mmscfd by 2025.