<div>Indonesia is reactivating its membership of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in December, OPEC said on Tuesday, which would add almost 3 percent to the group's oil output already close to a record high.</div><div> </div><div>The southeast Asian country would be the fourth-smallest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ahead of Libya, Ecuador and Qatar, and bring the number of participants to 13 countries.</div><div> </div><div>Indonesia was the only Asian OPEC member for nearly 50 years before leaving the group at the start of 2009 as oil prices hit a record high, and rising domestic demand and falling production turned it into a net oil importer.</div><div> </div><div>In a statement, OPEC said Indonesia's request to reactivate its full membership was circulated to OPEC members and following their feedback, OPEC's next meeting on Dec. 4 will include the formalities of reactivating its membership.</div><div> </div><div>"Indonesia has contributed much to OPEC's history," the statement from the group's Vienna headquarters said. "We welcome its return to the Organization."</div><div> </div><div>Indonesia's Energy Minister, who OPEC said will be invited to December's meeting, told Reuters earlier on Tuesday the country would return as a full member.</div><div> </div><div>The development is no great surprise as in OPEC terms Indonesia never really left. OPEC termed its departure a "suspension." Ecuador, which rejoined in 2007, set a precedent for a return from suspension. OPEC sources made clear the door was always open.</div><div> </div><div>Indonesia's status as a net importer had raised the question of whether it would return as a full member given that OPEC's Statute says any country with a "substantial net export of crude petroleum" may become a full member.</div><div> </div><div>OPEC pumps more than a third of the world's oil and is engaged in a defense of market share, having dropped its long-standing policy of cutting output to support prices in November 2014.</div><div> </div><div>The addition of Indonesia's output will boost OPEC's production by about 2.6 percent based on July output figures towards 33 million barrels per day (bpd) - far in excess of OPEC's 30 million bpd official target.</div><div> </div><div>OPEC output has not been above 32 million bpd since 2008, before Indonesia's exit.</div><div> </div><div>Indonesia produced 840,000 bpd in July, according to the International Energy Agency, and OPEC pumped 31.88 million bpd in July according to a Reuters survey - the highest monthly rate on record from the current 12 members.</div><div> </div><div>(Reuters)</div>
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