Prof. Tutuka Ariadji on Indonesia’s Energy Transition Strategy
By Adi Permana
Editor Adi Permana
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id – Prof. Ir. Tutuka Ariadji, M.Sc., Ph.D., a professor at the Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering ITB, also acts as Director General of Oil and Gas at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Republic of Indonesia, delivered a presentation on the National Strategy for Energy Transition at an event called Inspirasi Untuk Bangsa: 63 Years of ITB on Friday (4/2/2022).
Prof. Tutuka explained that the Indonesian government has already set a big target for 2030. "The government has set a target for oil and gas productions, which is 1 million barrels of oil and 12 million standard cubic feet of gas each day in 2030, to meet the national energy demands which keep increasing," explained Prof. Tutuka.
According to him, this target is very challenging especially when Indonesia is very dependent on oil as an energy source. Still, this target must be fulfilled in order to secure our future energy needs.
Currently, natural gas holds the first place as our most readily available energy source. In addition to that, the current state of natural gas utilization and exploitation still leaves a lot of room for further improvement. Some actions that have been taken by the Indonesian government to maximize the potential of natural gas include building new gas power plants and building new gas pipeline networks. "In the future, renewable energy will play a big role in fulfilling Indonesia's energy demands," concluded Prof. Tutuka.
Furthermore, Prof. Tutuka also talked about the transition to electric vehicles in Indonesia. He said that he is positive about this trend as it can reduce our immense demands for fossil energy. However, some initiatives need to be taken to ensure this trend continues, such as increasing the efficiency of electric generation and distribution.
Professor Tutuka then explained the economical aspect of the oil and gas industry. He said that the oil and gas industry often requires a large initial investment, and even so it is not uncommon that the revenue it generated is not as high as was previously expected, thus making this industry very risky. This led to the industry being saturated with old and already well-established companies.
Thankfully, those obstacles do not hinder one of Indonesia's SOEs to become one of the leading actors in this field. "Currently, Pertamina is able to fulfill over 70% of Indonesia's oil and gas needs," Professor Tutuka concluded.
Reporter: Yoel Enrico Meiliano (Food Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Favian Aldilla R (Civil Engineering, 2019)
