PHR Explores Unconventional Oil Fields, How Large Is the Potential?

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — The government continues to drive the performance of the upstream oil and gas industry as a strategy to boost production and strengthen national energy security.

Pertamina Hulu Energi, the upstream subholding of PT Pertamina (Persero), has affirmed its role in advancing oil and gas exploration and production in Indonesia. This comes as the domestic oil and gas industry faces the challenge of ageing fields that are increasingly difficult to develop.

President Director of Pertamina Hulu Rokan, Muhamad Arifin, said PHR’s efforts to increase production are being carried out through a number of strategies, including entering a new business in one of the reservoirs it has discovered: unconventional oil and gas (MNK).

Earlier, throughout 2025, PHR pursued two strategies to maintain its baseline by maximising production to curb the rate of natural decline, enabling output to reach 151,500 barrels per day (BOPD), or 24–25% of Indonesia’s total oil and gas production. PHR is also promoting new and renewable energy development through the use of solar cells and a decarbonisation programme, as well as entering new businesses.

Specifically for the unconventional oil and gas project, PHR is driving development at two oil and gas wells in the Rokan Working Area, namely the Gulamo and Kelok wells, with resources reaching 740 million BOPD. By 2027, PHR targets the drilling of eight additional wells to add up to 40,000 BOPD to Indonesia’s oil and gas production.

What is PHR’s strategy for boosting Indonesia’s oil and gas production? For the full discussion, watch Andi Shalini’s interview with the President Director of Pertamina Hulu Rokan, Muhamad Arifin, on CNBC Indonesia’s Economic Update (Friday, 10/07/2026).