** Mailing List Nasional Indonesia PPI India Forum ** http://thestar.com.my/services/printerfriendly.asp?file=/2005/2/27/business/10277879.asp&sec=business The Star Online > Business Sunday February 27, 2005 Oil prices are too high, says Opec SINGAPORE: Indonesian oil minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ministers had formed a rough consensus that oil prices were too high, the International Herald Tribune reported yesterday. Purnomo also confirmed his government would hike fuel prices 29% and said an international oil firm had reported that a major new field had been found in his country, the newspaper said. Purnomo cautioned that Opec ministers would not necessarily agree to increase production at their next meeting in Iran on March 16 because they knew oil demand tended to drop in the northern spring. But, in comments matching those made by another Indonesian official on Friday, he said current oil prices were too high. "They have got to be lower than what we see today, because even Opec doesn't like to see the high oil prices," the newspaper quoted Purnomo, Indonesia's representative at Opec and a former Opec head, as saying in an interview. Purnomo said he would like Indonesian oil prices to drop to around US$35 a barrel by late spring. A senior Indonesian energy ministry official, Iin Arifin Takhyan, said on Friday that current world oil prices at around US$50 a barrel were too high but also said Opec did not need to cut production heading into the spring. High oil prices do not help Indonesia because falling production from ageing fields mean in some months it is a net importer of crude. The government also faces high subsidy payments when oil prices rise. Confirming comments by Indonesian lawmakers, Purnomo told the newspaper his government planned to announce a 29% increase in retail prices for gasoline and diesel. Purnomo said the hike, which he acknowledged was likely to trigger street protests, would be announced tomorrow night. Indonesia's poor pay only 700 rupiah (7.6 US cents) per litre for kerosene, less than half the retail market price of 1,800 rupiah per litre charged to the corporate sector. He declined to give details of the major oil find that had been reported by an oil company. However, he said recent discoveries should add 300,000 barrels per day to Indonesia's annual production for several years, allowing the country to maintain overall production above a million barrels per day. Indonesia has begun a review of its membership in Opec because of questions about whether it can maintain its status as a net exporter of crude oil. - Reuters [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Help save the life of a child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/mGEjbB/5WnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.uni.cc *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Satu email perhari: ppiindia-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 5. No-email/web only: ppiindia-nomail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 6. kembali menerima email: ppiindia-normal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ppiindia-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ** Forum Nasional Indonesia PPI India Mailing List ** ** Untuk bergabung dg Milis Nasional kunjungi: ** http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ ** ** Website resmi http://www.ppi-india.uni.cc **