Venezuelan Oil Company PDVSA Signs Agreement With Indonesia

In mid-January, the Energy Ministry of Indonesia and the Venezuelan Oil Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in oil and gas in Caracas

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This occurred during a meeting attended by high-ranking officials such as Arifin Tasrif, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mineral Resources of Indonesia; Pedro Tellechea, Venezuelan Oil Minister and President of Petrolium ov Venezuelan (PDVSA); and Jaffee Arizon, director of Pertamina Internacional Exploracion y Produccion (PIEP).

The MoU opens unprecedented opportunities for PDVSA to expand its energy partnerships with significant players in the Asian market, a region where it already has a consolidated presence following the consolidation of petroleum cooperation with China and India in 2022.

Indonesia, with a population of 270 million, is the leading energy consumer in Southeast Asia. A report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) highlights that its energy consumption has averaged an annual growth of 3 percent since 2010.

This Asian country is also one of the major exporters of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in Asia, and has a robust oil and gas sector that has been at the center of interest for international investors in both conventional and unconventional energies.

In mid-January 2024, Minister Arifin Tasrif stated that "investment in the energy and minerals sector reached US$30.3 billion, and the oil and gas sector continues to dominate with a contribution of US$15.6 billion." 

Indonesia's energy sector also has a strong international exposure. The company PIEP manages oil and gas assets in Algeria, Iraq, and Malaysia, in addition to owning over 70 percent of the shares of the France-based company Maurel & Prom.

In 2023, Maurel & Prom resumed its operations in Venezuela, in Lake Maracaibo, through the Petroregional del Lago Joint Venture, after signing an agreement with PDVSA.