Giant Discovery Could Boost Indonesia's Oil Production by 150,000 Barrels by 2030

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, has revealed a new oil and natural gas discovery in East Kalimantan. The find, managed by the Italian oil and gas company Eni, is estimated to boost domestic condensate production by up to 150,000 barrels per hour (bph).

Bahlil explained that the gas reserves discovered in the block amount to 5 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF), up from a previous estimate of 2 TCF. He emphasised that accelerating the development of this field is the government’s strategy to achieve higher national oil and gas lifting targets.

“We have just discovered a new block in East Kalimantan obtained by Eni. It’s 5 TCF. Previously, there was 2 TCF,” he stated at the IPB Alumni Synergy for the Nation event, quoted on Monday (4/5/2026).

According to Ministry of ESDM data, this production comes from the Geliga Block in East Kalimantan. The project is projected to produce 90,000 bph of condensate in 2028, increasing to 150,000 bph by 2030.

Not only condensate, the gas production, previously projected at 600-700 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD), will rise to 2,000 MMSCFD in 2028. It will develop further to 3,000 MMSCFD in 2029.

“Then it can produce around 375 million equivalent barrels per day for condensate. So in 2028 for this block, we can produce 2,000 to 2,500 MM, and in 2029 we target 3,000 MM for gas,” he explained.

“And in 2029-2030, we can add around 150,000 barrels per day for condensate. This is sometimes using sudden scientific knowledge. No, this is field science,” he clarified.

For context, the Geliga well was drilled to a depth of about 5,100 metres in water depths of around 2,000 metres. This discovery extends Eni’s successful exploration record in the Kutai Basin, following the major find at Geng North in 2023 and the Konta-1 well in 2025. The results affirm the significant potential of the gas system in that basin and the stability of resources in the region.

The Geliga discovery follows the Final Investment Decision (FID) for several gas projects, namely Gendalo and Gandang (South Hub), as well as Geng North and Gehem (North Hub).

For its development, the North Hub project will utilise a new floating facility (Floating Production Storage and Offloading/FPSO). Its capacity reaches 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bscfd) and 90,000 barrels of condensate per day (bpd). Additionally, the project will leverage existing facilities, including the Bontang LNG Plant.

Besides the Geliga well, Bahlil also mentioned the earlier Gula well, which yielded about 2 TCF of gas and 75 million barrels of condensate. From both wells, the initial combined resource estimate for Geliga and Gula has the potential to add up to 1,000 MMSCFD of gas and 90,000 bpd of condensate.

In addition to impacting the increase in national oil and gas reserves, the jumbo gas discovery in the Ganal Block also opens opportunities to accelerate the development of integrated gas infrastructure. Eni is currently evaluating development schemes that synergise with the North Hub project and existing facilities like the Bontang LNG Plant, to speed up the monetisation of the find and optimise value added for the country.