Eurasia Review: Indonesia Energy Profile: Reorienting Away From Exports To Serve Domestic Consumption

Indonesia is the most populous country in Southeast Asia and the fourth most populous country in the world (behind China, India, and the United States). Formerly a net oil exporter in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Indonesia struggles to attract sufficient investment to meet growing domestic energy consumption because of inadequate infrastructure and a complex regulatory environment. At the same time, it was the world’s largest exporter of coal by weight and the eighth largest exporter of natural gas in 2011. Increasingly, the government seeks to reorient domestic production away from exports to meet demand at home.

Indonesia’s total primary energy consumption grew by over 50 percent between 2001 and 2010. Petroleum continues to account for the most significant, though decreasing, share of Indonesia’s energy mix at less than 30 percent in 2011. In the past decade, coal consumption has tripled and surpassed natural gas as the second most consumed fuel in 2004. MORE