Indonesia hands exploration licenses to BP, others in energy security push

Several companies, including a consortium of Britain's BP and Japan's Inpex, UAE-based Mubadala Petroleum, and Indonesia's Medco Energi, signed new oil and gas contracts in Indonesia on May 20, as the government seeks to boost exploration activity and strengthen domestic energy supply, Oil and Gas Director General Laode Sulaeman said.

BP secured interests in three blocks, including the Bintuni and Drawa exploration blocks located near its existing Tangguh LNG operations in West Papua. Their proximity to existing infrastructure could support faster and lower-cost development, according to the company.

BP also confirmed its participation in the INPEX-operated Barong block in East Java, the company said in a statement.

"These agreements demonstrate our ongoing investment in Indonesia's energy security and economic growth. We already have world-class assets in the country, and, subject to success, the proximity of two of these new blocks to our existing infrastructure could support the potential future development and production of these resources," William Lin, BP's executive vice president for gas and low carbon energy, said in a statement.

According to ministry data, the Bintuni block is estimated to contain 2.1 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves, while Drawa and Barong are estimated to hold 0.36 TCF and 2.9 TCF, respectively. A consortium comprising BP Exploration Indonesia Limited, MI Berau B.V., CNOOC Southeast Asia Limited, and Indonesia Natural Gas Resources Muturi Inc. won the Bintuni block in Papua. The same consortium also secured the Drawa block.

Meanwhile, a consortium of Inpex Corporation and BP Exploration Indonesia Limited was awarded the Barong block.

The contracts are the latest in a string of deals signed by BP under new CEO Meg O'Neill.

Separately, the UAE's Mubadala Petroleum signed a contract for the Southwest Andaman block offshore Sumatra, which is estimated to contain 3 TCF of gas reserves, according to ministry data.

PT Sele Raya also signed a contract for the Karunia block in Sumatra, which is estimated to contain 82 million barrels of oil and 0.13 TCF of gas reserves.

Armada Talu Holdings B.V. signed a contract for the Jalu block in the offshore Andaman Sea, which is estimated to contain 2.9 TCF of gas reserves.

Finally, PT Proteknik Gagah Energi signed a contract for the onshore Gagah block in South Sumatra, estimated to contain 173 million barrels of oil, while PT Medco Energi signed for the Nawasena block, located onshore and offshore East Java, which is estimated to contain 1.3 TCF of gas reserves.

The deals were part of the second Indonesia Petroleum Bidding Round 2025, BP said.

Energy security

Indonesia is currently producing from only 20 of its 128 identified oil and gas basins. The country produced 605,300 b/d of crude oil in 2025 and is targeting production of 610,000 b/d in 2026.

Jakarta is pushing to lift production to 1 million b/d of oil and 12 billion cubic feet of gas per day by 2029-2030 as part of efforts to strengthen energy security.

Indonesia, a former member of the OPEC that left the group after years of declining output, has been seeking to attract more upstream investment as production has declined over the past decade.

Although the country is pursuing a transition to cleaner energy, officials say oil and gas will remain important to meet rising demand during the transition.