The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKK Migas) has complained that vacancies in oil and gas projects run by Indonesian companies remain unfilled because skilled workers are being recruited by foreign companies for projects abroad.
As a result, the projects were unable to reach their maximum potential for oil and gas production, said Rudi Satwiko, Deputy Head of Business Support at SKK Migas.
“The problem is that it is a bit difficult to find welders, so some of our orders are delayed, including big projects like Forel and others. It turns out that our welders are being kidnapped,” he said during a supply chain and national capacity building event hosted by SKK Migas in Jakarta on Wednesday, as reported Business.
He further stated that several Indonesian oil and gas engineers have also been hired by foreign oil and gas companies, and “not only engineers; our skilled workers (in the oil and gas industry) are also being poached.”
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Oil consumption in Southeast Asia’s largest economy is expected to more than double to 3.97 million barrels of oil per day (bopd) by 2050, while natural gas consumption is expected to more than quadruple to 26,000 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd), according to data from SKK Migas.
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The government aims to increase its oil and gas production to one million barrels of oil and 12 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (bscfd) by 2030 to reduce its dependence on expensive oil and gas imports and meet the country’s growing energy needs. Capacity building of trained personnel is therefore crucial for future investments in this sector.
