By Xinhua,
Jakarata : The lower house of Indonesia’s parliament Wednesday approved the withdrawal of the country’s membership from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
At a meeting at its headquarters in Vienna of Austria Tuesday, the OPEC officially announced that Indonesia will cease to be a member of the oil cartel from 2009.
“Having become a net oil importer, it is not proper for Indonesia to remain in OPEC,” house committee chairman Airlangga Hartanto said.
“In its position as a net oil importer, Indonesia can no longer gain anything from OPEC. So, it is better to leave the organisation.
“When Indonesia becomes a net petroleum exporter again, it could return to OPEC,” Antara news agency quoted Hartanto as saying.
Indonesia had joined the organisation in 1961.
The OPEC will now be a cartel of thirteen countries comprising Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.