Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Indonesia imported about 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of processed fuel last year to meet domestic demand for the oil-based commodity, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

Local supplies fell short due to reduce oil output and an increase in domestic consumption, the ministry's director general of oil and natural gas, Iin Arifin Takhyan, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

"We are already a net importer of fuel because our refineries don't have the capacity to produce as much as needed," Iin said. Indonesia also imported crude oil last year, although he did not mention how much.

Domestic fuel consumption increases by about 6 percent per year, while annual production of crude oil keeps declining, exacerbated by aging drilling facilities. Should the country fail to find new oil fields to boost output, Indonesia will have to import more fuel to meet rising domestic demand.

Declining production, as well as the need to import oil, has prompted calls for the country to withdraw from the Organization of Petroleum Exporter Countries (OPEC). The government has set up a team to review its OPEC membership.

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro has said that the country will need four new oil refineries in the next year or two to reduce fuel imports.

Elsewhere, Iin said that throughout 2004, the country produced 800,000 bpd of fuel, while domestic consumption stood at about 1.1 million bpd.

A statement from the oil and mineral resources ministry shows that oil production in December, plus condensate, increased by 9,530 bpd, which took the country's total production to 1,094,653 bpd.

According to a PriceWaterhouse Cooper survey last year, the country is among the top 10 countries in the world with the largest oil and mineral potential. However, an unhealthy investment climate has stopped investors from investing in the oil and gas industry here.