The government of Indonesia decided to allow more imports of gas for the domestic industry, a decision that should put downward pressure on Indonesia's gas price. Many players in Indonesia's manufacturing industry have complained about the high domestic gas prices. This causes high production costs and therefore Indonesian manufacturers lack competitiveness (compared to foreign counterparts), while foreign investors think twice before investing in the nation's manufacturing industry.

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The government of Indonesia decided to offer more attractive profit sharing schemes in order to lure investors to invest the nation’s oil & gas blocks. In September, the government plans to auction a total of eight oil & gas blocks with a profit sharing of 30 percent to 35 percent for oil, and 35 percent to 40 percent for gas. The majority of profit will still go to the government. Usually, the government offers a 15 percent profit share for oil and a 30 percent profit share for gas to investors.

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Indonesian authorities, i.e. the government and central bank (Bank Indonesia), announced or revised several macroeconomic assumptions for 2015 and 2016. Perhaps most importantly, Indonesia’s 2016 economic growth assumption has been revised down to the range of 5.5 - 6.0 percent (y/y), down from its previous assumption of 5.8 - 6.2 percent (y/y). Indonesian Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro also stated that the government will assume the rupiah at IDR 13,000 - 13,400 per US dollar for the 2016 calendar year.

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On 29 March 2015, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve economic matters such as an analysis of the rupiah performance, economic growth forecasts by international institutions, the government’s plan to revise the palm oil export tax and relax the mineral ore export ban, and more.

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Earlier this month the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said that Indonesia will require an additional 3,100 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas supplies in the next five years to meet domestic gas demand for the country’s power stations and fertilizer plants. About 1,100 mmscfd of gas is needed for Indonesia’s plan to establish 13,400 MW of gas-fired power stations by 2020. A further 2,000 mmscfd is needed to fuel fertilizer plants in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

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The government of Indonesia will soon decide on the future of the Mahakam oil and gas block in East Kalimantan. The existing contracts to operate the block will expire in 2017 and therefore the government needs to make a decision about the future operator(s). The current operators of the Mahakam block are Total E&P Indonesia (subsidiary of France-based oil and gas giant Total S.A.) and Japanese oil company Inpex Corporation. Both companies have a 50 percent stake in the Mahakam block.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo decided that the Masela liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant will be constructed onshore. Masela, located in the Arafura Sea (Moluccas), is Indonesia's largest deep-water gas project. Previously, Japan-based oil company Inpex Corp and Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell proposed to construct the LNG plant offshore (which would have made it the world's largest floating LNG plant). On Wednesday (23/03) President Widodo rejected the proposal after months of polemic. Contractors Inpex and Shell are not expected to withdraw from the project but will need time to adjust plans.

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Sudirman Said, Indonesian Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, announced that state- owned energy company Pertamina will become the new operator of the offshore Mahakam oil & gas block in East Kalimantan starting from 1 January 2018, replacing current operators Total E&P Indonesia (the local unit of France-based Total S.A.) and Japan-based Inpex Corporation as existing contracts expire in 2017. The Ministry, Pertamina, Inpex and Total met on Friday (27/03) to discuss the transition process.

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