Facing up to dwindling oil and gas resources in ASEAN

[Tom Kirkman + 8,860]

Over the course of several weeks I had numerous conversations with the author of this article about regional oil & gas in Southeast Asia.  Stephen Chin is a senior writer for a regional newspaper, The ASEAN Post.  We had several lively discussions about the overall status of oil and gas resourses in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region.

This article was partially the result of my gentle prodding to the author to do some independent research and fact checking. 

Facing up to dwindling oil and gas resources

Oil and gas are finite resources. Although they can generate substantial revenue for national coffers, they cannot be relied on indefinitely. As an oil and gas producing country develops, its domestic demand for the commodities will grow and gradually cancel out financial gains.

Oil was a big component of Indonesia’s economy ever since it was first discovered in north Sumatra in 1885. In 1962, Indonesia became the first and only Southeast Asian member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) until it voluntarily suspended its membership in 2008.

However, its domestic oil consumption overtook production in 2002 and it became a net importer of oil. This was compounded by declining production, down from its peak of nearly 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in 1991 to around 779,000 in May this year.  ...

[TraderTate + 186]

and the numbers I see seem to support that, as well: In chart ...