Indonesia has awarded five strategic oil and gas blocks to both domestic and international companies, aiming to reverse its decade-long production decline and enhance national energy security, the country’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources announced on Wednesday.
These awards are part of Indonesia’s broader strategy to revive its upstream oil and gas sector, with nearly 60 additional blocks expected to be offered in the coming years. “The government hopes these auction winners will contribute to Indonesia’s energy security in the future,” said Tri Winarno, a senior official at the Ministry.
A consortium of eight companies, including Enquest Petroleum Production Malaysia, BP Exploration Indonesia, and CNOOC Southeast Asia, secured two high-potential blocks, Gaea and Gaea II, located in West Papua. Gaea is estimated to hold 9.6 billion barrels of oil or 71.8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, while Gaea II has reserves of 8.5 billion barrels of oil or 35.1 tcf of gas.
In addition, state-owned Pertamina Hulu Energy, along with Malaysia’s Petronas (via PC North Mandura II) and South Korea’s SK Earthon, were awarded the Binaiya block offshore Maluku. This block is estimated to contain 6.7 billion barrels of oil and 15 tcf of gas.
The Sepang block, offshore East Java, was awarded to PC North Madura II and SK Earthon, in partnership with Japan’s INPEX Corporation. Meanwhile, the Kojo block in the Makassar Strait was awarded to Armada Etan.
Once a major oil exporter and key OPEC member, Indonesia has increasingly relied on energy imports to meet domestic demand. The recent block awards are part of an effort to attract investment and accelerate exploration, as Indonesia also opens the door to more U.S. energy imports amid ongoing trade discussions.
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