Agreement Reached on US$20 Billion Investment, Bahlil Accelerates Masela Project
The Indonesian government is serious about ensuring the Abadi Masela natural gas field project in the Arafura Sea genuinely proceeds after being stalled for decades.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia confirmed the government is accelerating the completion of the Abadi gas field project, Masela Block, Maluku, following the achievement of an investment agreement for the mega-project valued at US$20 billion.
According to Bahlil, speaking in Jakarta on Monday, the government is serious about ensuring the Abadi Masela project genuinely operates after being delayed for decades.
During his meeting with INPEX Corporation CEO Takayuki Ueda in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday (15 March 2026), the Energy Minister directly emphasised that the giant gas project in the Arafura Sea should immediately enter the final investment decision phase and cease to drag on.
The meeting represented an important opportunity to accelerate the project, valued at US$20 billion or equivalent to Rp339 trillion.
For the government, continued Bahlil, the Masela project holds significant economic growth potential for eastern Indonesia, whilst also serving as a major gas supply source for domestic industry in the future.
He appreciated progress on the project, which has now reached approximately 25 per cent completion.
Given this significant progress, Bahlil expressed his desire for the Abadi Masela project to advance front-end engineering and design (FEED) in the second or at the latest third quarter of this year, so that engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) tender could be conducted in parallel.
“We want this to move quickly so it doesn’t drag on any further. This has already been 27 years—do we really have to wait until I’m 60 years old before it’s completed? And besides, it’s my mother’s village. So, I think we could tender the EPC this year,” Bahlil said during the meeting.
To achieve the FEED target, Bahlil proposed to INPEX that Abadi field production, reaching 9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), should be purchased by Danantara if no serious buyer emerges by the end of April 2026, including to meet downstream industrialisation programme supply requirements.
“So there’s certainty about the buyer. I respect foreign buyers, but at this moment, Indonesia as a nation must be present to work together with INPEX to ensure operations. So, we (Danantara) will buy it ourselves,” Bahlil said.
Responding to the Energy Minister’s statement, Takayuki Ueda expressed his commitment to promptly completing the Abadi Masela project.
“Thank you very much, Minister, for your generosity and commitment to supporting this project. Because this is not just my personal issue, but our INPEX team also shares the commitment to accelerate the realisation of Abadi, including myself having worked on Abadi for 12 years. Not just the Minister, but we too have the same commitment to promptly execute the Abadi project. And after discussing with the Minister, we are even more motivated to accelerate completion of the Abadi project,” Ueda said.
From an administrative perspective, project progress has become increasingly solid with the completion of several crucial permits in early 2026.
Environmental approval with an environmental impact analysis document was issued on 13 February 2026, following forest land release approval from the Forestry Ministry in January 2026.
Full support from relevant ministries demonstrates strong government coordination in overseeing this massive investment to keep it on track.
The Energy Minister reiterated to INPEX the importance of consistent compliance with agreed targets.
With accelerated bureaucracy and massive investment commitment, continued Bahlil, Indonesia now looks optimistically towards developing a green energy hub in the Arafura Sea.