By Robert Chambers – Actionable insights and advisory | Upstream and LNG
Indonesia announced the results of the 2024 oil and gas second bid round on April 16, 2025. Five of the six blocks have been awarded, and the sixth is yet to be announced.
The five blocks awarded were all offered through the direct offer path, with the results being:
- KOJO – The Kojo block was awarded to Bumi Armada through its 100% subsidiary, Armada Etan Limited. It is located offshore Makassar Strait and was awarded under cost recovery terms.
- BINAIYA – The Binaiya block was awarded to a consortium of Pertamina Hulu Energi, PETRONAS Carigali, and SK Earthon. The block is located Offshore Maluku and was awarded under cost recovery terms.
- SERPANG – The Serpang block was awarded to a consortium of PETRONAS Carigali, INPEX, and SK Earthon. The block is located Offshore East Java and was awarded under cost recovery terms.
- GAEA I and GAEA II – The Gaea I and Gaea II blocks, offered separately, were awarded to the same consortium that is essentially the current Tangguh LNG partners (BP, Mitsubishi, INPEX, CNOOC, ENEOS Xplora, Sojitz, Sumitomo, JOGMEC and Mitsui) plus EnQuest and PT Agra Energi. The two contiguous blocks are located Onshore & Offshore West Papua, with the blocks awarded under cost recovery terms.
The remaining unawarded block is Air Komering, which was offered under the regular tender method, and therefore can still be considered active.
Trends in recent awards
The chart below summarizes the blocks offered and awarded over the last 4 years’ rounds.
As can be seen, this latest round has been very successful in attracting bidders and is considered a success.
Companies involved
This latest bidding round sees both a strengthening of positions by some of the awardees as well as new entrants.
EnQuest
EnQuest continues its recent growth story in the region, which has seen new awards in Malaysia and entry into Vietnam.
Agra Energi Indonesia
Agra Energi Indonesia is currently running a farm-out process for its 16.67% stake in the North Ganal PSC (Geng North discovery).
SK Earthon
SK Earthon has been active in Vietnam and Malaysia and is looking for expansion opportunities. It has partnered with PETRONAS Carigali in both the Binaiya and Serpang blocks, which brings excellent operating experience, especially in Offshore East Java.
Bumi Armada
This is Bumi Armada’s second award in Indonesia, following the award of a 51% operated stake in the Akia PSC, which was offered in the 2023 bid round with partners Pexco and Tately N.V. Bumi Armada is making an interesting move into the upstream space for a company that has traditionally been an FPSO contractor.
Final comment
This was a very successful bid round, with new companies entering and a majority of the blocks awarded.
About Robert Chambers
I have spent 20 years working within the upstream oil and gas industry. I have a technical engineering background and have worked across a broad spectrum of technical, commercial, and advisory roles as well as driving and managing commercial product offerings.
I have worked across the world, including over 11 years in Asia-Pacific, where I continue to be active.
