Indonesia kicks off 1st oil, gas auction

Indonesia has commenced its first oil and gas auction this year, unveiling five blocks on Tuesday in a bid to revitalise exploration efforts and counteract dwindling output in a nation that once stood as a net oil exporter, Reuters reported.

At the Indonesia Petroleum Association annual conference, Energy Minister Arifin Tasrif underscored the country’s current focus on tapping into its vast oil and gas reserves, noting that out of 128 hydrocarbon basins, there are significant 68 remain unexplored.

Highlighted among the offerings on Tuesday Dadan Kusdiana, a senior official from the energy ministry referred to the Pesut Mahakam onshore block in East Kalimantan province, boasting an estimated 1.1 trillion cubic feet of gas. There is also the Central Andaman exploration blocks, with resources estimated at 100 million barrels of oil and 500 billion cubic feet of gas.

Furthermore, Melati block in Sulawesi, encompassing both onshore and offshore fields and holding an estimated 4.7 trillion cubic feet of gas and 850 million barrels of oil, was also on the auction block.

Looking forward, the government aims to introduce up to ten new blocks in 2024, potentially including gas blocks in the northern Sumatra region.

On the same day, Indonesia signed a production sharing contract with Malaysia’s Petronas for the Bobara block off West Papua and revised a contract for the Ketapang block off Java with Petronas and its partners, with total investment commitments for these two contracts reaching around $97 million.