Masela Must Move: Bahlil Urges Acceleration of Eastern Indonesia's Giant Energy Project

Tokyo, Japan—In a meeting room in Tokyo, discussions between the Indonesian government and Japanese energy company leaders carried more than the usual business agenda. There was emotional urgency when Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia spoke about the future of the Abadi Masela Project.

For Bahlil, the giant gas project in the Arafura Sea was not merely an investment figure or production statistic. There was a lengthy history of waiting that drove his desire for the project to truly progress now—no longer a perpetually delayed plan.

In a meeting with INPEX Corporation CEO Takayuki Ueda on Sunday, 15 March 2026 local time, Bahlil delivered a clear message: the project that had waited nearly three decades could not move slowly anymore.

The project’s investment value reaches approximately USD20 billion, or approximately IDR339 trillion. For the government, Masela is not merely an ordinary oil and gas project, but one of the keys to opening a new centre of economic growth in Eastern Indonesia whilst strengthening national gas supply in the future.

For this reason, Bahlil pushed for acceleration of a critical project phase: Front End Engineering and Design (FEED). He hoped this stage could be advanced to the second quarter of 2026, or at the latest the third quarter of this year, so that the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) tender process could proceed in parallel.

Bahlil’s tone in the meeting reflected his desire for the Masela project not to be “dragged out”.

“We want this to move quickly so it is not dragged out any longer. It has been 27 years, we cannot wait until I am 60 years old for it to be completed. Especially since it is my mother’s village,” Bahlil said, as quoted from the ESDM website.

That statement was more than just a joke. There was personal meaning behind it. Masela is indeed located in Maluku—a region with emotional ties for Bahlil. For this reason, he wanted the project to truly materialise and bring real benefits to communities in Eastern Indonesia.

The acceleration drive was also accompanied by concrete government action. If by the end of April 2026 there is no serious buyer for the Abadi Field gas production of 9 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG, the government is prepared to step in directly through state-owned investment entities.

According to Bahlil, the state investment agency Danantara could become the gas buyer from the project, including to support domestic energy downstream programmes.

“To ensure there is a buyer. I appreciate foreign buyers, but now the time has come when Indonesia must be present to work together with INPEX to ensure operations run. So we ourselves will buy it,” he said.

That statement became a strong signal that the government was not only pushing acceleration from a regulatory perspective, but also ready to provide market guarantees for the project.

From an administrative standpoint, the project’s foundation has begun to strengthen. Several important permits were completed in early 2026, including environmental approval through an Environmental Impact Assessment document on 13 February 2026 and forest release permit from the Forestry Ministry in January 2026. This cross-ministerial support proved that the Masela project is now a national priority.

For its part, INPEX also demonstrated similar commitment. CEO Takayuki Ueda acknowledged that this project had been a long journey for the company.

“This is not just an issue for me personally. I have worked on Abadi for 12 years. After discussing with the Minister, we are even more motivated to accelerate completion of this project,” Ueda said.

That statement illustrated one thing: both the Indonesian government and its investment partner now share the same determination—to end the long wait for a project that has been running for nearly 27 years.

For Bahlil, the waiting period has been long enough. Masela must move now.

If all phases proceed as planned—FEED is advanced, EPC tender is accelerated, and a final investment decision is made soon—then the Abadi Masela Project has the potential to become one of the largest economic engines in Eastern Indonesia’s region.

And for the minister, the project is not merely about energy or investment. It is also about the promise that major development cannot continue to be delayed.