Indonesia makes exit from Opec

Declining oil reserves and investment have forced Indonesia to quit the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries even as other members cash in on soaring global prices.

The Indonesian Energy Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, said Indonesia no longer belonged among exporting heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kuwait, days after his Government slashed fuel subsidies that have long protected the poor, forcing prices at the pump to jump by nearly 30 per cent.