BEIJING, Aug. 9 (Jakarta Post) – The Indonesian government is looking to partner with Chinese state-owned oil and gas company Sinopec to set up enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects in several depleting oil fields in the country.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif said that Indonesia would like to form the partnership through its state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina’s subsidiary Pertamina EP.

Arifin said that China has advanced EOR technology to increase oil production, adding that it could help increase the rate of oil extracted from depleting oil fields to 50%.

The highest rate in Indonesia currently stands at 30%.The government aims to increase production from existing fields by implementing EOR as part of a short-term strategy to boost its oil production to one million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2030.

Currently, the country produces around 600,000 bpd.