PHE Discovers 1 Billion Barrels of Non-Conventional Oil in Riau

PT Pertamina Hulu Energy (PHE) has discovered non-conventional oil and gas (MNK) in Riau province during exploration activities, with reserves estimated at one billion barrels of oil equivalent.

CEO Awang Lazuardi stated the discovery is part of the company’s efforts to find new reserves to bolster future energy security. “Alhamdulillah, we have successfully explored non-conventional oil in Riau with 2C reserves of approximately one billion oil equivalent,” he said during a House of Representatives Commission XII hearing in Jakarta on Tuesday (26/5/2026). The company is accelerating further exploration to confirm the economic viability of the find, with plans to drill two to three wells in the Riau non-conventional oil fields.

The discovery is expected to address the national oil fields’ natural decline rate of 24% annually. “This will be our lifeline moving forward and a game-changer if exploration here yields significant results,” he added.

Pertamina’s Deputy Director Oki Muraza explained the company is working to build a supportive ecosystem to enable mass production of the potential. He noted that developing non-conventional oil requires cross-sector collaboration and attractive government fiscal policies to draw investor interest. “The good news is we recently identified 11 billion barrels of non-conventional oil potential,” Muraza said at the 50th IPA Convention & Exhibition in ICE BSD, Tangerang Regency on Thursday (21/5/2026).

Pertamina believes collaboration with global oilfield service companies is crucial to adopt proven technologies from regions like the US Permian Basin, which is necessary to accelerate extraction of non-conventional oil with different technical characteristics. “Our current task is to advocate for fiscal policies with the government and attract numerous service company partners to create an ecosystem,” Muraza added.