Without Oil and Gas Industry

The discussion organized by the Indonesian Petroleum Association on Wednesday (26/4), in Jakarta, took an interesting theme. "Portrait of Indonesia Without Oil and Gas Industry" is the chosen theme of the organizer. Is it possible? The theme seemed to respond to the statement of Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignatius Jonan in an energy discussion late last month. According to him, when the price of oil and gas is low, the import of such commodities is wide open.

Import is very possible if the cost is much cheaper than producing from home. According to Professor of Petroleum Engineering Department of Bandung Institute of Technology Tutuka Ariadji, ignoring the upstream oil and gas industry in the country is not possible. Besides Indonesia still has reserves of about 3 billion barrels of crude oil and 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, domestic consumption needs of oil and gas continue to rise from year to year.

The electrification ratio improvement program through the 35,000 megawatt megaproject is difficult to achieve without the contribution of natural gas as fuel for the plant. Electricity becomes the pulse of the economy. Without electricity, economic activity is paralyzed. Back again, gas (and fuel oil) is also needed to power the plant.

If relying on imports, according to Executive Director of ReforMiner Institute Komaidi Notonegoro, Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves could be threatened. Oil and gas imports require about 50 billion US dollars per year. That does not include imports of LPG and other derivative products of oil and gas.

In the oil and gas supporting business sector, this sector will also be hit if the spirit of oil and gas imports is greater than producing from within the country. At the moment of sluggish oil and gas investment lately due to falling oil prices, they lost 40 percent of the value of their business. So said Chairman of the Association of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Drilling Company Indonesia Wargono Soenarko.

The government listened to what Jonan said above, it will not necessarily shut down the upstream oil and gas industry in the country and choose oil and gas import channels. Natural resources in the form of oil and gas will still be utilized optimally with certain rules.

Then, what is the solution for upstream oil and gas investment in the country can be passionate and compete with other countries? Incentives are either tax or fiscal, and the simplification of the bureaucracy. The government has been working to improve the upstream oil and gas investment climate through a number of new regulations, including the simplification of bureaucracy. Again, let time prove whether incentives are more efficacious than importing oil and gas

IN INDONESIAN

Tanpa Industri Migas

Diskusi yang diselenggarakan Asosiasi Perminyakan Indonesia, Rabu (26/4), di Jakarta, mengambil tema menarik. ”Potret Indonesia Tanpa Industri Minyak dan Gas Bumi” adalah tema yang dipilih penyelenggara. Mungkinkah? Tema tersebut seolah merespons pernyataan Menteri Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral Ignasius Jonan dalam sebuah diskusi energi akhir bulan lalu. Menurut dia, di saat harga minyak dan gas rendah, impor komoditas jenis tersebut terbuka lebar. 

lmpor sangat memungkinkan jika ongkosnya jauh lebih murah daripada memproduksi dari dalam negeri. Menurut Guru Besar Bidang Keahlian Teknik Perminyakan Institut Teknologi Bandung Tutuka Ariadji, mengabaikan industri hulu migas di dalam negeri adalah tidak mungkin. Selain Indonesia masih memiliki cadangan sekitar 3 miliar barrel minyak mentah dan 100 triliun kaki kubik gas bumi, kebutuhan konsumsi minyak dan gas domestik terus naik dari tahun ke tahun.

Program peningkatan rasio elektrifikasi lewat megaproyek 35.000 megawatt sulit terwujud tanpa kontribusi gas bumi sebagai bahan bakar pembangkit. Listrik menjadi urat nadi penggerak perekonomian. Tanpa listrik, aktivitas ekonomi lumpuh. Kembali lagi, gas (dan bahan bakar minyak) juga diperlukan untuk menggerakkan pembangkit listrik.

Jika mengandalkan impor, menurut Direktur Eksekutif ReforMiner Institute Komaidi Notonegoro, cadangan devisa Indonesia bisa terancam. Impor migas membutuhkan sekitar 50 miliar dollar AS per tahun. Itu belum termasuk impor elpiji dan produk turunan migas lainnya.

Di sektor bisnis penunjang migas, sektor ini juga bakal terpukul apabila semangat impor migas lebih besar daripada memproduksi dari dalam negeri. Di saat lesunya investasi migas akhir-akhir ini akibat harga minyak anjlok, mereka kehilangan 40 persen nilai bisnisnya. Demikian kata Ketua Umum Asosiasi Perusahaan Pemboran Minyak, Gas, dan Panas Bumi Indonesia Wargono Soenarko.

Pemerintah menyimak apa yang diucapkan Jonan di atas, memang tidak akan serta-merta mematikan industri hulu migas dalam negeri dan memilih jalur impor migas. Sumber daya alam berupa migas tetap akan dimanfaatkan seoptimal mungkin dengan kaidah-kaidah tertentu.

Lalu, apa solusi agar investasi hulu migas di dalam negeri bisa bergairah dan bersaing dengan negara lain? Insentif adalah salah satunya, baik soal pajak atau fiskal, serta penyederhanaan birokrasi. Pemerintah sudah berupaya memperbaiki iklim investasi hulu migas lewat sejumlah aturan baru, termasuk penyederhanaan birokrasi. Sekali lagi, biar waktu yang membuktikan apakah insentif lebih mujarab daripada mengimpor migas

Kompas, Page-17, Thursday, April, 27, 2017