Indonesia to stop importing oil by 2015

Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas firm PT Pertamina plans to stop importing petroleum products by 2015 by boosting the capacity of its refineries, Chief Executive Officer Karen Agustiawan said. Pertamina currently imports 5 to 8 million barrels of petroleum products a month to meet demand. The government also plans to raise the country’s oil production by up to one million barrels per day by 2011, by boosting exploration at new oil fields, according to Indonesian Coordinating Minister Hatta Rajasa. Increasing oil demand and dwindling oil production has made Indonesia a net oil importer since February 2008. (April 22, 2010)