Want a glimpse at oil's future? Consider the curious case of Indonesia.
The world's fourth most populous country used to be a significant oil player. Indonesia joined OPEC in 1962 and enjoyed decades of carteldom. From 1996 to 2006, however, the country's output declined by 32%. The 2001 oil sector reform, in which national oil company Pertamina's grip was loosened on the exploration and production sector, may have been designed to avert a fall to net importer status. Despite the activities of Chevron
This turn of events has become less curious as more countries have followed the Indonesian pattern. The U.K., for example, swung to a permanent net importer this decade. Apache
Each country will face quite the challenge in propping up production during its twilight years. Indonesia, for one, is taking steps to incentivize explorers to sink more wells. Foreign players like Marathon Oil
This is a tough development for Indonesia and its post-peak producer brethren, but it's certainly timely for Talisman Energy