Bahlil Announces Discovery of Jumbo Gas Reserves in East Kalimantan
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, has announced the discovery of jumbo gas reserves of around 5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in the Geliga-1 well, Ganal Block, Kutai Basin, offshore East Kalimantan.
In addition to gas, 300 million barrels of condensate were also found in the well.
This discovery is the result of exploration in the working area operated by the Italian energy company, Eni.
“Eni has just obtained one new working area, giant, from the Geliga well which produces 5 trillion cubic feet of gas, and we get condensate of approximately 300 million barrels of oil equivalent,” Bahlil stated during a press conference at the Ministry of ESDM in Jakarta on Monday (20/4/2026).
According to Bahlil, this discovery proves that Indonesia still has great opportunities to optimise its oil and gas potential as a pillar of national energy resilience and to support energy self-sufficiency targets.
“In an era where almost all countries are now safeguarding their reserves, once again we give thanks to God for this discovery, which is a blessing given, and we must truly focus on carrying out the President’s orders to seek new oil sources,” Bahlil said.
He explained that Eni’s peak production is estimated to reach 2,000 MMSCFD in 2028, a significant increase from the current production of around 600-700 MMSCFD. Production is targeted to continue rising to 3,000 MMSCFD by 2030.
“In addition to gas, we will also find in 2028, condensate production of approximately 90,000 barrels, and in 2029-2030 it could increase again to 150,000 barrels,” he revealed.
Bahlil is optimistic that the increase in Eni’s production, combined with the government’s strategy to meet domestic gas needs from within the country, will help reduce crude oil imports through increased condensate production.
“This is a strategy for how our gas is not imported from any country. We must meet domestic needs and this gas will be promoted for industrial downstreaming, and it will reduce our crude oil imports with the addition of condensate,” he said.
The Geliga well was drilled to a depth of around 5,100 metres at a water depth of about 2,000 metres.
This discovery extends Eni’s record of successful exploration in the Kutai Basin, following previous large finds in Geng North in 2023 and the Konta-1 well in 2025.
The results of this discovery affirm the significant potential of the gas system in that basin as well as the stability of resources in the area.
The Geliga discovery also comes after the final investment decision (Final Investment Decision/FID) for several gas projects, namely Gendalo and Gandang (South Hub), as well as Geng North and Gehem (North Hub).
In its development, the North Hub project will use a new floating facility (Floating Production Storage and Offloading/FPSO) with a capacity of up to 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day (BSCFD) and 90,000 barrels of condensate per day (BPD).
This project will also utilise existing facilities, including the Bontang LNG Plant, to accelerate the monetisation of the find and optimise added value for the state.
The government is encouraging that this discovery be promptly followed up to the production development stage, so that its economic benefits can be felt soon through increased investment, job creation, increased state revenues, and strengthening of national gas supplies for industrial and public needs.