Indonesia-US cooperate in developing ‘unconventional gas’

Indonesia and the United States on Monday agreed to cooperate in developing “unconventional gas” in Indonesia as the country will learn from its counterpart about technology to develop non fossil fuel.

Evita Legowo, director general of Oil and Gas in the Ministry for Energy and Mineral Resources, said in the U.S.-Indonesia Energy Investment Roundtable, that both side agreed to work together to develop non fossil fuel in Indonesia as the country has abundant resources of the commodity.

“We will talk about investment, how to fulfill demand as our need keeps growing, not only for industry but also for transportation as Indonesia is moving to switch from fossil fuel to gas,” said Legowo.

Later on, she told a press conference that in the roundtable, both sides will exchange information on price, environment, shale gas, industry, operation and regulation

David Sandalow, assistant secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, said in his remarks that his country is committed to encouraging cooperation in the realm of unconventional gas.

“And, at the request of Indonesia’s Ministry for Energy and Mineral Resources, we agreed to hold this event that we are embarking upon today. We will hear important insights from the expert panelists we have brought together today as well as from the points raised by the audience in the discussion period,” said Sandalow.

He said that to protect energy security and promote prosperity, both countries need to look at demand side of the energy equation as well as the supply side.

“Indonesia can enhance its energy security at tremendously low cost by promoting energy efficiency whether it is through fuel efficient vehicles, energy efficient power plant and factories, energy efficient building or energy efficient consumer appliance. Promoting energy efficiency is almost always the least-cost option for meeting growing energy demands,” said Sandalow.

Indonesia’s Vice Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Widjajono Partowidagdo, said that with the American technology, Indonesia can develop its “hidden energy”.

“In the past, we could not develop energy contained in deeper layer (of the Earth). But, now, there is a technology to do that. The U.S. technology can do that, allowing them to be one of the unconventional gas producers in the world now,” said Partowidagdo. <Xinhua>

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