Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday his government would pursue five policies to cope with the various problems caused by the continuing spiral in the world crude oil price.

"First, we have to increase oil production from 1.1 million barrels per day to 1.3 million barrels per day," the President said here.

The President expressed optimism the target can be reached as the Cepu oil field in Central Java province and the Jeruk oil field in southern Madura island would begin production.

The Indonesian rupiah continued its crumble against the US dollar Tuesday, dragging the stock market along with it, as oil prices reached above 70 US dollars a barrel

The rupiah fell for the tenth consecutive day Tuesday, closing down to nearly 11,000 rupiah against the dollar, its lowest rate since November 2001.

Rising oil prices lead the state-owned company of PT Pertamina must pay more for its oil imports.

President Susilo called on investors to engage in the oil and gas industry in Indonesia.

The second policy, the President said, was diversification of energy.

Susilo called on the nation to use new energy sources to substitute fuel oil the production of which was declining. He also called on businessmen to use their technology to develop renewable energy sources.

Moreover, diversification to renewable energy is expected to help prevent damage to the environment.

The third policy was energy saving and conservation.

The President said he had issued an instruction, especially to government offices, to save energy in a bid to create efficiency.

The fourth policy was improving law enforcement, especially to combat fuel oil smuggling.

Susilo said the low fuel oil price in Indonesia compared to the international price had induced fuel oil smuggling. "I have ordered the authorities to combat fuel oil smuggling."

The fifth policy was to reformulate the government's fuel oil subsidy policy because the current subsidy had yet to be enjoyed by low-income people.

The President further said the government would continue to improve the investment climate, including in the oil and gas sectors, develop good governance, and combat corruption.

In addition, the government was also trying to maintain political stability among others by settling the Aceh and Papua conflicts in peaceful ways, said the President.

Source: Xinhua