Indonesia and Japan to Soon Finalise Masela Block
The Head of the Special Task Force for Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (SKK Migas), Djoko Siswanto, stated that Indonesia and Japan have agreed to expedite the development of the Abadi gas field project in the Masela Block, Maluku, amid the ongoing war between the United States (US)-Israel and Iran.
“Yes, all parties have agreed to the acceleration,” said Djoksis, Djoko Siswanto’s familiar nickname, to ANTARA when contacted from Jakarta on Monday (30/3).
Djoksis conveyed that discussions on the progress of the Masela Block development are proceeding well and continue to show advancement.
“(The discussions) continue to progress and are going smoothly,” said Djoksis.
It is known that Djoksis, along with the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia, accompanied President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Japan to strengthen strategic cooperation between the two countries.
The Spokesperson for the Ministry of ESDM, Dwi Anggia, stated that the energy sector was one of the agendas discussed during the visit.
She said that energy cooperation with Japan has great potential to strengthen national energy resilience.
In that context, she stated that the ESDM Minister has a role in ensuring that every energy sector cooperation opportunity can be translated into concrete agreements.
Previously, on Sunday (15/3), Bahlil met with Inpex Corporation CEO Takayuki Ueda, marking an important momentum in pushing for the acceleration of the Masela Block project, which has an investment agreement worth USD 20 billion (approximately Rp339 trillion).
The Masela Block project is considered to have significant value as a new economic driver for eastern Indonesia, as well as a major gas supply source for the national industry in the future.
The Indonesian Ambassador to Japan and the Federated States of Micronesia, Nurmala Kartini Sjahrir, stated that the agreement on the development of the Abadi Field in the Masela Block is a historic milestone for national energy resilience.
The Indonesian Embassy in Tokyo will continue to carry out its facilitation function so that the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) stage can proceed on time in the third quarter of 2026, thereby achieving production targets in 2029-2030.
Meanwhile, Bahlil also appreciated the progress of the project construction, which has reached about 25 percent.
He emphasised his desire for the Masela Abadi Project to advance FEED in the second quarter of 2026 or at the latest in the third quarter of this year, so that it can parallelly conduct Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) tenders.
The Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa emphasised that the economics of the gas price produced by Inpex in the Masela Block must remain competitive.
This commitment was conveyed during a debottlenecking session held at the Ministry of Finance Office, Jakarta, on Tuesday (24/2).
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia revealed that 301 oil and gas exploration results have entered the development plan stage.
Japan is mentioned as the main potential buyer, followed by Malaysia because Petronas is Inpex’s partner, and then several Asian countries such as Taiwan.
As a pillar of Indonesia’s future energy resilience, the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project at the Abadi Field in Tanimbar, Maluku, is now entering a new phase.