Masela Project Investment Rp 355 Trillion, Bahlil: Could Increase Due to Uncertain Geopolitics

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, acknowledges that the investment for the Abadi Field project in the Masela Block, initially valued at US$20.9 billion or approximately Rp 355 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of Rp 16,995), could potentially increase upon implementation. According to him, this is due to the uncertain geopolitical dynamics that may alter various aspects related to the investment value in the future. “The total (investment) for the Masela Block is US$20.9 billion initially. It is very likely that with uncertain geopolitics, there will be an increase. But that will happen later during implementation,” said Bahlil in his statement on Tuesday, 31 March 2026. He admits that President Prabowo has instructed him to promptly execute the Masela project, considering its substantial investment value and the fact that it has been stalled for a long time. Therefore, through ongoing communications, the project has now entered the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) tender stage, targeted for this year, 2026. This coincides with the final investment decision (FID), which is also expected to be completed this year. “Why must this be accelerated? Because this is one of the giant oil and gas producers, 1,200 MM,” he stated. Bahlil said that if the Masela project can be realised as planned, he believes that the national energy resilience in the oil and gas sector will be assured. He is optimistic that this will make Indonesia one of the major players in the global gas sector. “If we can achieve this, our energy resilience in the oil and gas sector will be even stronger, and at the same time, it will position Indonesia as one of the world’s gas players,” said Bahlil. Through discussions with INPEX, Bahlil assures that the government will purchase the production from the Masela Block if there is no buyer yet. “Yesterday I requested that if the external market is not yet clear, it should all be bought by Danantara in this case PGN, so that we strengthen domestic downstream integration,” he said.