In the first half of this year, Indonesia booked US$9.48 billion in investment in the energy and mineral resources sector, only 25 percent of the full-year target of $37.2 billion.

The oil and gas sector contributed the most to the total investment at $5.11 billion, followed by electricity at $2.83 billion.

Meanwhile, the mining and renewable energy sectors recorded a respective $790 million and $750 million in the first half.

Responding to the results, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said in a presentation made available to The Jakarta Post that global energy prices had become one of the main challenges in the past three years.

“The focus ahead is to continue with efforts that simplify regulations, strengthen investment facilities and speed up the process of making strategic decisions,” the ministry said in the presentation.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry spokesman Agung Pribadi told the press last Friday that investment in oil and gas would jump significantly in the second half, as was typical.

(source: The Jakarta Post)