Indonesia Prepares Gas Project Worth Rp352 Trillion with List of Buyers
Jakarta — Indonesia’s Special Work Unit for Oil and Gas Upstream Activities (SKK Migas) has announced that the Abadi Field Masela Block project must secure firm buyer commitments for liquefied natural gas (LNG) before entering the Final Investment Decision (FID) phase.
SKK Migas Chief Djoko Siswanto stated that the FID for the investment project, valued at nearly US$21 billion or approximately Rp352 trillion, is targeted for completion by the end of 2026. Consequently, he hopes INPEX will obtain certainty regarding Gas Sales Agreements (PJBG).
“We require that gas buyers must be confirmed before FID. So if FID is at the end of December this year, then at least by early or mid-December we must have LNG buyers,” Djoko said during a National Strategic Project Coordination Meeting on Onshore LNG Abadi Masela at the Ministry of Finance, as reported on Wednesday (25 February 2026).
His office is targeting completion of the LNG Development Agreement (LDA) by year end. He emphasised that Gas Sales Agreements (GSA) must be secured before FID can be determined by the project operators.
Currently, INPEX is exploring preliminary Heads of Agreement (HOA) negotiations with domestic buyers including PT PLN (Persero), PT PGN Tbk, and PT Pupuk Indonesia, although these remain non-binding.
Whilst gas buyer commitments for the Masela project remain within the domestic sphere, securing global market participants is also deemed essential. “Now we just need to find marketing partners abroad. The Minister also asked whether we could secure commitments from industries besides PGN and PLN,” he noted.
Djoko cited examples of other projects that have already secured market certainty. Several projects, such as those by Eni and Mubadala, are positioned to achieve FID more quickly. “If we compare with Eni and Mubadala, Eni might sign off on FID next week because they have already secured pricing or completed auctions both domestically and internationally,” he said.
The Abadi Field in Masela Block is Indonesia’s largest deepwater gas field, located approximately 160 kilometres offshore from Yamdena Island in the Arafura Sea at depths of 400-800 metres. The Abadi Field has estimated gas reserves of 6.97 trillion cubic feet (TCF).
The Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for Masela, signed in 1998 and extended until 2055, has the potential to generate 9.5 MMTPA (million metric tonnes per annum) of LNG and 150 MMSCFD (million standard cubic feet per day) of pipeline gas. Additionally, the Abadi Field is estimated to produce 35,000 barrels of condensate per day.
The greenfield development concept, which entails high complexity and significant risks including deepwater drilling, subsea facilities, Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO), and an onshore LNG plant, will present substantial challenges and opportunities for the production-sharing contractor and its partners. The field development is also expected to employ up to 10,000 workers.