Bahlil Opens 118 Oil Blocks as Indonesia Targets 1 Million Barrels Per Day
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The government has opened a tender for 118 new oil and gas blocks amid high national energy import requirements and the objective of increasing Indonesia’s oil lifting to 1 million barrels per day by 2029-2030.
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said the move is to speed up exploration and boost domestic oil and gas production in the face of global geopolitical conditions that are still uncertain.
‘These investors are players in K3S; upstream oil and gas carries high risks. Do not complicate matters. Make it easier,’ Bahlil told the IPA Convex 2026 event at ICE BSD, on Wednesday (20 May 2026).
According to Bahlil, the government wants to ensure that oil and gas investment processes run faster without multi-layered bureaucracy. Therefore, he urged all licensing and regulatory processes to be accelerated so that oil and gas blocks that already have development approvals or a plan of development (POD) can be executed promptly.
‘Feel free to undertake joint studies. Or if no one wants to do so, that’s fine too. This is being opened up generally. Anyone can participate. There is no need to negotiate behind closed doors,’ he said.
Separately, the government also highlighted the high level of national energy import demand. Bahlil said Indonesia’s consumption of fuel currently stands at around 1.6 million barrels per day, while oil lifting in 2025 was in the region of 600,000 barrels per day.
The 2026 state budget target is set at 610,000 barrels per day, but actual production remains below that figure. This means Indonesia still needs to import around 1 million barrels per day.
‘Of the 1 million barrels per day that we must import, that can be converted or substituted by using B40, and now we will push B50 from July,’ he said.
He added that biodiesel usage can substitute around 200,000 to 300,000 barrels per day through the use of crude palm oil (CPO). Thus, imports of refined petroleum products can be reduced to around 600,000 to 700,000 barrels per day.
Bahlil also said Indonesia will no longer import certain diesel in 2026, except for high-quality diesel such as C51.