Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina reported a net loss of $767.92 million in the first half of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic weakened energy demand and prices. The recent loss reversed a $659.96-million profit that the company made in the January-June period last year. A company spokesperson said the dismal performance was mostly attributed to tepid domestic fuel consumption, low global oil prices, and a weak exchange rate of rupiah to dollar during the period.
Major Indonesian cities were under social restrictions during the period, which caused Pertmina’s domestic fuel and crude oil sales to fall. As a result, the company’s revenue plunged by 19.8% year-on-year to $20.48 billion. Pertamina plans to cut total expenses by 14.1% to $18.87 billion, mostly by slashing sales expenses. On the other hand, Pertamina raised its upstream expenditure to meet the government’s oil and gas output targets.
Fajriyah said that Pertamina expects global oil prices and domestic fuel consumption to rebound over the next several months, which is expected to provide Pertamina with profit by the year-end. However, most analysts expect that Brent crude prices would stay below $50/barrel in 2020. They also warned a potential second wave of COVID-19 infections which may prompt some economies to reimpose lockdown measures.
The number of COVID-19 cases continued rising in Indonesia with no sign of plateauing in sight. As of September 6, Indonesia’s COVID-19 tally had reached 194.109, after adding 3.444 cases on that day. The death toll reached 8.025, with the test rate remaining among the lowest in the world.
