Indonesia is set to import oil from Qatar very soon, said a top diplomat of the Southeast Asian nation which is one of the leading gas exporting countries in the world.
The founding Opec member, which left the organization of oil exporting countries in 2009, is now importing large quantities of oil to meet the rising domestic demand. However, the country is still a net exporter of natural gas.
“The negotiations to import oil from Qatar are almost at final. We are now expanding our storage capacity, and the shipments of Qatari oil are expected to reach our shores very soon,” Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar Muhammad Basri Sidehabi (pictured) told The Peninsula.
Sidehabi added: “Our total oil consumption in 2017 was about 1.65 million barrels per day (mb/d), which is growing fast. We rely on imports for about 50 percent of the total consumption, which we are sourcing from several countries.”
Every year Indonesia receives between 60 and 100 shipments of crude oil from diversified sources, which include oil imported via Singapore.
According to reports, Indonesia’s energy demand is forecast to reach 6.19 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) by next year, while supply is expected to reach only 6.04 million boepd. And the domestic production of crude oil stands at about 0.79 mb/d (798,000 barrels).
Qatar and Indonesia has been working closely to deepen and expand bilateral cooperation in several areas, including energy, construction, food security, and tourism. The combined value of two-way trade exchange reached $342m (QR1.24bn) last year, and expecting nearly 300 percent growth in 2018.
With regard to the mutual investments, Indonesia is one of Qatar’s favourite destinations of investment. There are various Qatari investments in Indonesia in communication and banking sectors. There are nine Qatari-Indonesian companies and two companies of 100 percent Indonesian capital specialised in construction, engineering and technology all are operating in the Qatari market.
“Qatar has been emerging as more and more sustainable economy. Every day, despite facing more than a year of blockade, the country has proven its robustness. The country’s leadership and the key government agencies have been working more diligently and actively than ever before, and attracting more companies and investors from all over the world, including Indonesia,” said the envoy.
He also noted that the bilateral cooperation is expected to get further deepen and expanded in the coming years as both sides are working aggressively for the mutual benefits. Food security, tourism and deeper cooperation in the field of energy and construction are some of the most promising sectors both sides are working to expand ties. The ambassador also said that there are already more than 10,000 Indonesian professionals working in Qatar’s various industries, including oil and gas sector.
Qatar Chamber (QC) recently hosted an Inodnesian trade delegation headed by the Chairman of Indonesian Professional Engineer Association and the Deputy-Chairman of Indonesia Chamber of Commerce and Industry Raswari Anwar.
In early August this year, both the countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on developing the tourism sector in Indonesia, where Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) allocated $500m to carry out a number of tourism projects in 10 sites chosen by the Indonesian government.
Tag: Qatar News , Local News , Indonesia to import oil