The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources auctions 13 oil and gas blocks at IPA Convex
Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) is auctioning 13 oil and gas blocks within the IPA Convention and Exhibition (IPA Convex) 2026.
‘The Ministry of ESDM officially announced the first round of Indonesia’s 2026 oil auctions, involving a total of 13 working blocks (WK),’ said Laode Sulaeman, Director General of Oil and Gas (Dirjen Migas) of the Ministry of ESDM, addressing oil and gas entrepreneurs attending IPA Convex in Tangerang, Banten, on Wednesday.
Laode noted that the government provides leeway for contractors under production sharing contracts (KKKS) or oil and gas companies to choose the production sharing contract they want, whether in a gross split or cost recovery scheme.
In simple terms, the gross split scheme allows KKKS to obtain a larger share of the production sharing than the government, but with production costs not reimbursed by the government.
Meanwhile, the cost recovery scheme allows KKKS to obtain reimbursement of production costs from the government. However, the share of production for government is typically higher because it bears production costs.
Other incentives offered by the government include tax incentives and compensation for the surrender of oil and gas to the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO), referred to as the DMO Fee (Imbalan DMO).
‘For those interested in participating, the auction starts today,’ Laode said.
For the direct offer track, access to bid documents opens from 20 May 2026 to 3 July 2026. The deadline for submitting bid documents is set at 6 July 2026.
In addition, the government also opened a regular tender for the ABT 2025 study area that includes Rupat WK, Puri, Pesut Mahakam, Bengara II, Maratua II, Rombebai, and Jayapura.
In this category, access to bid documents opens from 20 May 2026 to 17 July 2026, with the bid submission deadline on 20 July 2026.
For other regular tenders, the government offers Namori WK, South Tanimbar, Cerera, and Areca Bruni.
Bid documents open from 20 May 2026 to 15 September 2026, with bid submissions closing on 17 September 2026.
Below are the details for the 13 oil and gas blocks or WKs auctioned by the government:
A. Direct offer tender path (direct bidding):
- WK Natuna D Alpha
Location: offshore Natuna
Area: 10,211.85 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 2,865 mmbo
Contract type: cost recovery with a 50:50 split (oil and gas)
- WK Sapukala
Location: offshore Makassar Strait
Area: 8,474.5 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 2,309 bscf gas
Contract type: gross split (base PSC split 53:47 in oil and 51:49 in gas)
B. Regular Tender WK List:
- WK Rupat
Location: offshore and onshore Riau, and offshore North Sumatra
Area: 7,843.66 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 1,110 mmbo
Commitment: 2D seismic over 200 km
- WK Puri
Location: onshore in Riau Province
Area: 4,190.32 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 1,110 mmbo
Commitment: 2D seismic over 200 km
- WK Pesut Mahakam
Location: onshore East Kalimantan
Area: 1,530.15 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 1,336 mmbo
Commitment: 3D seismic covering 100 km²
- WK Bengara II
Location: onshore and offshore Kalimantan Utara
Area: 3,289.67 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 1,057 mmbo
Commitment: 3D seismic covering 100 km²
- WK Maratua II
Location: onshore and offshore Kalimantan Utara
Area: 4,350.36 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 3,279 mmbo
Commitment: 2D seismic over 200 km
- WK Namori
Location: offshore East Nusa Tenggara (NTT)
Area: 9,769.82 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 17,475 mmbo or 38.5 tcf of gas
Commitment: 3D seismic covering 200 km²
- WK South Tanimbar
Location: offshore Arafura Sea
Area: 8,492.49 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 5.6 tcf of gas
Commitment: 3D seismic covering 500 km²
- WK Cerera
Location: offshore Papua
Area: 7,171.22 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 1,487 mmbo and 1.3 tcf gas
Commitment: 3D seismic covering 250 km² or 2D seismic over 1,000 km
- WK Areca Bruni
Location: offshore and onshore Papua Barat Daya
Area: 8,480.52 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 2,985 mmboe
Contract type: cost recovery (split PSC 60:40 oil and 55:45 gas) or gross split
- WK Rombebai
Location: offshore and onshore Papua
Area: 7,367.48 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 14.75 tcf gas
Contract type: cost recovery (split PSC 55:45 oil and 50:50 gas) or gross split
- WK Jayapura
Location: offshore and onshore Papua
Area: 7,299.41 km²
Estimated resources: approximately 19.4 tcf gas
Contract type: cost recovery (split PSC 55:45 oil and 50:50 gas) or gross split