Jakarta, April 8 -- The Indonesian government is preparing to establish a task force to curb illegal drilling and regulate unauthorized oil wells across the country.

Director of Certain Crimes at the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim), Brigadier General Mohammad Irhamni, said on Wednesday that rising global oil prices have necessitated this move.

To anticipate the impact of high prices, Indonesia needs to strengthen its domestic oil reserves while many illegal wells remain in operation.

The National Police, along with Indonesia's upstream oil and gas special task force (SKK Migas), the Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ministry, and state oil and gas company Pertamina, have initiated the formation of the task f...