Indonesia Highlights: Indonesia’s Proven Oil Reserves Could Run Out in Less Than 10 Years: Minister | Senior Minister Expects Indonesian Economy to Grow Below 2.97 Percent in Q1 | Daily Coronavirus Ca

KOMPAS.com – In less than 10 years, Indonesia could run out of oil reserves if no new oil can be found by the stakeholders.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Minister (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif estimated that the oil reserves and natural gas would be gone in nine-and-a-half years, and in 19.5 years, respectively.

Therefore, experts suggested that activities of oil exploitation should be intensified to find new reserves in the country.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that the Indonesian economy in the first quarter of this year could lower than the same period last year.

Below are excerpts from the stories in Indonesia, curated by Kompas.com editors:

1. Indonesia’s Proven Oil Reserves Could Run Out in Less Than 10 Years: Minister

Indonesia’s proven oil reserves could run out in nine-and-a-half years if no new oil can be found, a top official said on Tuesday, January 19.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Minister (ESDM) Arifin Tasrif said that the country’s oil reserves have about 4.17 billion barrels with proven oil reserves of 2.44 billion barrels.

“It’s estimated that the oil reserves will be gone in about nine-and-a-half years,” said Arifin during a meeting with the House of Representatives Commission VI overseeing Trade, Industry, and Investments.

Meanwhile, he said, the country’s natural gas reserves have reached 62.4 trillion cubic feet, with proven reserves of 43.6 trillion cubic feet.

“The natural gas will be gone in 19.5 years,” the minister said.

He said that these would run out if the relevant stakeholders could not find the new reserves in the country.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/01/19/191529574/indonesias-proven-oil-reserves-could-run-out-in-less-than-10-years-minister.

2. Senior Minister Expects Indonesian Economy to Grow Below 2.97 Percent in Q1

DOK KEMENKO PEREKONOMIAN Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto delivers his speech in an event.

Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto on Tuesday has estimated that the Indonesian economy in the first quarter of this year could lower than the same period last year.

In 2020, the economy in the first quarter was already sluggish before the Covid-19 pandemic. The economic growth was recorded at only 2.97 percent, lower than the average growth of five percent.

“The economy at the first quarter of this year will be lower than last year,” said Airlangga in a virtual event held by Kompas Daily on Tuesday, January 19.

Even though it has not fully recovered in the first quarter, Airlangga is still optimistic that the economy this year can maintain a sustained growth in the range of 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent.

Airlangga said that several efforts were made by the government to accelerate the national economic recovery, such as boosting people’s purchasing power.

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/01/19/183700126/airlangga--pertumbuhan-ekonomi-kuartal-i-2021-akan-lebih-rendah-dari-tahun.

3. Daily Coronavirus Cases Hit New High of 14,000, Says Covid-19 Task Force

KOMPAS.com/MUHAMMAD NAUFAL An illustration of coronavirus.

A spokesperson for the Covid-19 National Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, said on Saturday that the new daily record of more than 14,000 confirmed cases could not be tolerated anymore.

“In the previous week, the addition of daily cases of 9,000 - 10,000 was already high. But, this week we have experienced an increase in daily cases of up to 14,000 cases,” Wiku said in a virtual conference on Tuesday, January 19.

“This cannot be tolerated,” he said.

He went on to say that the increase was contributed by the five regions with the highest confirmed cases of Covid-19. They are West Java, Jakarta, Central Java, Bali, and South Sulawesi.

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/01/19/17414991/kasus-harian-covid-19-tembus-14-ribu-satgas-tak-bisa-ditoleransi?page=1.