China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has announced that its wholly owned subsidiaries have signed two production sharing contracts (PSCs) with SKK Migas for exploration blocks in Indonesia.

The agreements will give CNOOC access to the Gaea and Gaea II blocks, which span around 12,000km² in the southern Papua Barat Province, both onshore and offshore, near the Tangguh LNG project.

The contracts also involve other partners in the Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, British company EnQuest and Agra.

The first stage of the exploration period is set for three years, as per the contract terms.

The Government of Indonesia confirmed the winning bidders for the exploration blocks in April of this year.

The Tangguh partners – BP Exploration Indonesia, CNOOC Southeast Asia, ENEOS Xplora, Indonesia Natural Gas Resources Muturi, KG Wiriagar Petroleum and MI Berau – collectively hold a 40% non-operating interest, of which CNOOC's subsidiaries hold a 5.56% interest in the Gaea and Gaea II exploration blocks.

EnQuest has been awarded a 40% operating interest, while Agra holds the non-operating interest of 20%.

CNOOC has also shared its 2025 interim results, revealing a 6.1% year-on-year increase in net production, with natural gas production rising by 12%.

The company has maintained its cost competitiveness, with net profit attributable to equity shareholders reaching 69.5bn yuan ($9.71bn).

Last month, CNOOC celebrated the commencement of production at the Dongfang 1-1 gas field 13-3 Block Development Project. This project is the first offshore natural gas project in China to address the challenges of high-pressure, high-temperature conditions in a low-permeability environment.

Additionally, CNOOC started phase one production at the Kenli 10-2 Oilfields Development Project, marking an achievement for the largest shallow lithological oilfield offshore China.