Indonesia's fully state-owned energy company Pertamina saw its net profit grow by a whopping 221 percent (y/y) to USD $1.83 billion in the first half of 2016. This remarkable performance is attributed to the company's enhanced operational performance and efficiency in the upstream and downstream segments. Dwi Soetjipto, General Director of Pertamina, that despite the oil and gas industry being plagued by major challenges, Pertamina managed to take its responsibility in terms of the energy supply, being the nation's foremost local energy supplier.

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London-based BP, one of the world's leading oil and gas companies, submitted its final investment development decision to expand the Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility (the Train III project) in West Papua, Indonesia. According to a statement from BP, this decision will create 10,000 new jobs, boost the local economy in West Papua and will contribute to meet Indonesia's energy needs. Construction is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2016 and is targeted to be completed by 2020.

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Indonesian independent power producer Cikarang Listrindo raised IDR 2.4 trillion (approx. USD $180.5 million) from an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange on Tuesday (14/06). The company is the first independent power producer to go public in Indonesia and the 5th firm to be added on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2016. Cikarang Listrindo floated 9.7 percent of its enlarged share capital on the bourse. On its trading debut its shares rose 2.6 percent from IDR 1,500 to IDR 1,540 a piece.

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Crude oil prices are rebounding, climbing nearly 90 percent from 13-year lows at the start of 2016. However, compared to two years ago crude prices are still down 50 percent hence corporate earnings in the oil and gas industry remain subdued, while few investors are enticed to engage in exploration. To deal with low oil prices, oil and gas companies need to become more efficient thus pushing down production costs in order to optimize earnings. Lets take a look at Pertamina, Indonesia's state-owned energy company. How much does it cost for Pertamina to produce one barrel of oil?

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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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As the coal mining industry will not rebound anytime soon, Adaro Energy, the second-largest producer of thermal coal in Indonesia, has to find another strategy to make a profitable business. Income coal sales has weakened but the company's mining services and logistics segments have been growing. Meanwhile, the company has been expanding to the downstream power generation industry. Not coal, but power generation may be the center of a new super-cycle in Indonesia as the government aims to see the construction of 35,000 megawatts (MW) of power plants in the next five years.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Jakarta on Monday (01/02) to discuss bilateral issues including trade and investment. High on the agenda was the topic of solar power. Reportedly, Hungary plans to invest USD $20 million for the construction of a 5 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Central Tapanuli (North Sumatra). Other topics included the manufacturing sector, fishery sector, the digital economy, and the promotion of peace and stability.

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The government of Indonesia will offer 21 geothermal blocks to investors over the next two years. Combined these 21 blocks, which are estimated to require USD $4.2 billion in investment, have a power generation capacity of 1,065 megawatt (MW). An official of Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said most of the geothermal power blocks will be offered through an open auction. The first auction is expected to take place in March 2016.

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Indonesia's push for usage of renewable energy sources, particularly geothermal energy, at the expense of usage of fossil fuels (such as oil or coal) has experienced a setback as there has been an impasse between state-owned electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) and Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), a subsidiary of state-owned energy company Pertamina regarding the renewal of their power purchase deal for electricity generated by PGE's Lahendong and Kamojang plants. The existing deal expires at the end of the year.

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Despite winter having arrived, global oil prices are still declining. Today (21/12), Brent crude prices plunged to the lowest level since 2004 on persistent concern about a global supply glut as the Energy Information Administration reported that US crude oil supplies rose 4.8 million barrels to 490.7 million in the second week of December, while the OPEC's production rate stood at 31.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in November 2015. Meanwhile, oil demand is expected to fall in 2016. For example, oil consumption in the USA is projected to fall to 1.2 million bpd next year, from 1.8 bpd in 2015.

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The new Joko Widodo-led government aims to triple domestic geothermal power production within the next five years in an effort to meet ever-increasing power demand in the world’s fourth-most populous country and to shift to more environment friendly energy sources (rather than the over-reliance on fossil fuels such as oil and coal). Although Indonesia is estimated to contain the world's largest geothermal energy reserves, the country only uses about four percent of its geothermal capacity potential.

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When campaigning, presidential candidates will always promise a bright future in order to gain votes. It is particularly easy for a new presidential candidate to promise golden mountains as opposed to the incumbent president who needs to be more cautious making promises as people can point to the (failed) results of his promises during the presidential term. The 2014 Indonesian presidential election was particularly interesting as we saw two new presidential candidates and, thus, the ‘inflation of promises’.

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After a long delay, Indonesia will finally start construction of the world's largest geothermal power plant, the USD $1.6 billion Sarulla project, in June 2014. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Chairul Tanjung said earlier this week that the groundbreaking of the Sarulla project will start very soon as the government had settled the financial framework. The project was already initiated in 1990 but shelved due to various issues, including the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2016.

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The sharply depreciated Indonesian rupiah exchange rate in the second half of 2013 in combination with the decline in domestic oil lifting has led to a soaring of fuel subsidy spending in 2014. In the 2014 State Budget (APBN 2014), the ceiling of energy subsidy spending for 3-kg LPG and fuels was set at IDR 210.7 billion (USD $18.3 billion). However, in the 2014 Revised State Budget Draft, the government proposes to raise the subsidy ceiling to IDR 285 trillion (USD $24.8 billion), thus swelling IDR 74.3 trillion from the initial ceiling.

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In an attempt to attract investments in Indonesia's geothermal power sector, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources plans to offer higher prices for geothermal-based electricity. Based on a recommendation from the World Bank, the new proposed geothermal-produced electricity price will range between 11.5 and 29 cents per KwH and will be effective until 2025. Currently, state-owned Perusahaan Listrik Negara pays between 10 and 18.5 cents per KwH to independent geothermal power producers (feed-in tariff).

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Production of coalbed methane (CBM) in Indonesia will most likely not meet the government's target of 500 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) in 2015. Coalbed methane, an environmental friendly fuel, is a form of natural gas that occurs in coal beds. Although the production of CBM is a complementary aspect of coal mining, it has only started to gain attention in recent years. CBM reserves in Indonesia, estimated at 453 trillion cubic feet (tcf), are among the world's largest CBM reserves (6 percent of total global CBM reserves).

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Coal is one of the most important commodities for Indonesia in terms of state revenue as it accounts for about 85 percent of the country's total mining revenue. Therefore, when global coal prices fell sharply from 2011 (amid a slowing global economy), Indonesia felt the impact. In a response to lower coal prices, Indonesian miners actually increased coal output thus placing more downward pressure on coal prices and profit margins. Although the coal industry will remain frail for some time to come, long-term prospects are still strong.

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Asep Sugiharta, an official at the Ministry of Forestry, said that a new bill has been submitted to Indonesia's parliament (DPR) which is expected to open up the potential for geothermal power development in Indonesia. Currently, geothermal exploitation is lawfully defined as a 'mining activity' (Law No. 27 2003) and therefore prohibited to be conducted in protected forest and conservation areas (Law No. 41 1999), even though geothermal mining activities have a relatively small impact on the environment (compared to other mining activities).

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The heavily subsidized fuel price of Indonesia is likely to be raised next month according to Indonesian media sources. Various high officials, including Economic minister Hatta Rajasa, discussed the possibility to raise the fuel price from IDR 4,500 (USD $0.46) to IDR 6,500 (USD $0.67) per liter starting from May. This increase will only apply to private passenger cars, and not to motorcycles and public transportation. However, president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has not made up his mind yet.

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