Government Commences Construction of North Hub Gas Project

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government has entered the construction phase of the North Hub gas project with the building of the Bahtera Haluan Lestari Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, which is targeted to begin production in 2028.

Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas) Djoko Siswanto said in Jakarta on Thursday that the offshore oil and gas project carries a total investment of US$11.8 billion, of which around US$2.9 billion has been allocated specifically for the construction of the FPSO facility.

The construction phase was marked by a first steel cut ceremony for the topside of the Bahtera Haluan Lestari FPSO in Tanjung Balai Karimun, Riau Islands, on Thursday.

The maiden steel cutting marks the start of the fabrication process for the FPSO’s main structure, which will serve as the gas processing hub for 16 wells in the Geng North and Gehem fields.

“The scale of this investment is concrete proof that Indonesia’s business climate remains highly attractive to investors and continues to be trusted by the international community. The ability of the domestic fabrication industry to meet the challenges of a project of this scale demonstrates that high technology can now be implemented at home,” said Djoko.

The North Hub Development Project has passed through several important milestones since gas was discovered at the Geng North-1 exploration well. Approval of the Kutei North Hub Plan of Development (POD) I was obtained in August 2024.

The project then completed its Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) phase in January 2025 and reached its Final Investment Decision (FID) in March 2026. Four months after the final investment decision, the project entered the first steel cutting stage in July 2026.