Indonesia has granted five oil and gas exploration blocks to various companies, marking a strategic move to bolster its declining oil and gas reserves and enhance national energy security, reported Reuters.
This initiative is part of the country's broader plan to offer close to 60 blocks in the coming years to counteract a ten-year decrease in production.
Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Senior Official Tri Winarno said: "The government hopes these auction winners will be able to contribute to Indonesia's energy security ahead."
The Gaea and Gaea II blocks in West Papua have been awarded to a consortium that includes Enquest Petroleum Production Malaysia, BP Exploration Indonesia and CNOOC Southeast Asia.
The Gaea block boasts an estimated 9.6 billion barrels (bbbl) of oil or 71.8 trillion cubic feet of gas, while Gaea II is believed to contain around 8.5bbbl billion barrels of oil or 35.1 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the government spokesperson.
In offshore Maluku, the Binaiya block, with potential reserves of 6.7bbbl of oil and 15 trillion cubic feet of gas, has been assigned to PT Pertamina Hulu Energy, Petronas's PC North Mandura II and SK Earthon from South Korea.
The same consortium, along with INPEX Corporation from Japan, has also secured the Sepang block offshore East Java.
The Kojo block in the Makassar Strait has been entrusted to Armada Etan.
The country is also in talks to increase energy imports from the US, including additional crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas, in a deal valued at approximately $10bn (Rp168.32trn).
