In 2009, after 47 years as a member of the oil producers' cartel, Indonesia suspended its OPEC membership, having lost its status as a net oil exporter. On Dec. 4, despite being a net importer, Indonesia will officially rejoin OPEC at the bloc's meeting in Vienna. This time, however, Jakarta is pursuing a new strategy, hoping to barter its status as OPEC's only Asia-Pacific member to become a bridge between Middle Eastern producers and Asian consumers. Rejoining OPEC is part of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's evolving strategy to reassert centralized control over key industries, build up Indonesia's domestic capabilities and cement the country's regional influence. For the upstream sector, which produces oil and natural gas, this means empowering domestic companies — principally state-owned oil company Pertamina — and forcing international investors to establish and use Indonesian companies.