Indonesia & China’s Energy Agreement

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan signed an agreement with China to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector on the sidelines of the fifth Indonesia-China Energy Forum (ICEF V) in Jakarta on Monday.

China was represented by National Energy Administration director Nur Bekri.

“We welcome foreign investment on the basis of the mutual benefit principle,” Jonan said at the JW Marriot Hotel in Jakarta on Monday.

Apart from signing an agreement, both countries also established two working groups, on oil, gas and coal as well as on renewable energy for electricity.

Meanwhile, the fifth Indonesia-China Energy Forum was attended by representatives of 96 energy firms from China and 40 firms from Indonesia.

“We hope that will produce a formula that could be implemented in the near future,” he said before Chinese and Indonesian businesspeople.

Currently, several Chinese companies, such as SINOPEC, Petrochina and CNOOC, have started investing in oil and gas in Indonesia.

Chinese companies have also been involved in the 35,000-megawatt electricity program through two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) arrangements and an independent power producer (IPP).

Meanwhile, in minerals and coal, Corporation of China Ltd. (Chinalco), in cooperation with PT Aneka Tambang and PT Inalum, constructed a smelter in West Kalimantan with a total investment of between US$1.5 billion and $1.8 billion. (bbn)