“For those interested in participating, the auction begins today,” the ministry’s director general of oil and gas, Laode Sulaeman, remarked.
The government is offering private and state-owned entities the flexibility to choose their preferred Production Sharing Contract (PSC) scheme, opting for either a gross split or a cost recovery model.
Simply put, the gross split scheme allows companies to retain a larger portion of the production revenue, but without government reimbursement for production costs.
Conversely, the cost recovery scheme allows companies to receive government reimbursement for production expenses, though the government's profit-sharing share is usually higher to offset those covered costs.
Other incentives provided by the government include tax breaks and compensation for oil and gas deliveries under the Domestic Market Obligation (DMO), commonly known as the DMO Fee.
For the direct offer route, access to bidding documents is open from May 20, 2026, to July 3, 2026, with the submission deadline set for July 6, 2026.
Additionally, the government is opening a regular tender for the ABT 2025 study area, which includes the Rupat, Puri, Pesut Mahakam, Bengara II, Maratua II, Rombebai, and Jayapura working areas. In this category, bidding documents will be accessible from May 20, 2026, to July 17, 2026, with a submission deadline of July 20, 2026.
Meanwhile, for the standard regular tender channels, the government is offering the Namori, South Tanimbar, Cerera, and Areca Bruni working areas. Bidding document access for these blocks will be open from May 20, 2026, to September 15, 2026, with submissions closing on September 17, 2026.
Below are the details for the 13 oil and gas blocks currently up for auction:
A. Direct offer tender route:
1. Natuna D Alpha Working Area
Location: Offshore Natuna
Area: 10,211.85 km²
Resource estimate: ± 2,865 mm²
Contract format: cost recovery with a 50:50 split (oil and gas)
2. Sapukala Working Area
Location: Offshore Makassar Strait
Area: 8,474.5 km²
Resource estimate: ± 2,309 bscf of gas
Contract format: gross split (base split PSC 53:47 oil and 51:49 gas)
B. List of Working Areas Regular Auction:
1. Rupat Working Area
Location: Offshore and onshore Riau, and offshore North Sumatra
Area: 7,843.66 km²
Resource estimate: ± 1,110 mm²
Commitment: 200 km of 2D seismic
2. Puri Working Area
Location: Onshore Riau Province
Area: 4,190.32 km²
Resource estimate: ± 1,110 mm²
Commitment: 200 km of 2D seismic
3. Pesut Mahakam Working Area
Location: Onshore East Kalimantan
Area: 1,530.15 km²
Resource estimate: ± 1,336 mm²
Commitment: 100 km² of 3D seismic
4. Bengara II Working Area
Location: Onshore and offshore North Kalimantan
Area: 3,289.67 km²
Resource estimate: ± 1,057 mm²
Commitment: 100 km² of 3D seismic
5. Maratua II Working Area
Location: Onshore and offshore North Kalimantan
Area: 4,350.36 km²
Resource estimate: ± 3,279 mm²
Commitment: 200 km of 2D seismic
6. Namori Working Area
Location: Offshore East Nusa Tenggara (NTT)
Area: 9,769.82 km²
Resource estimate: ± 17,475 mm² or 38.5 tcf of gas
Commitment: 200 km² of 3D seismic
7. South Tanimbar Working Area
Location: Offshore Arafura Sea
Area: 8,492.49 km²
Resource estimate: ± 5.6 tcf of gas
Commitment: 500 km² of 3D seismic
8. Cerera Working Area
Location: Offshore Papua
Area: 7,171.22 km²
Resource estimate: ± 1,487 mmboe and 1.3 tcf of gas
Commitment: 250 km² of 3D seismic or 1,000 km of 2D seismic
9. Areca Bruni Working Area
Location: Offshore and onshore, Southwest Papua
Area: 8,480.52 km²
Resource estimate: ± 2,985 mmboe
Contract form: Cost recovery (split PSC 60:40 oil and 55:45 gas) or gross split
10. Rombebai Working Area
Location: Offshore and onshore Papua
Area: 7,367.48 km²
Resource estimate: ± 14.75 tcf of gas
Contract type: cost recovery (split PSC 55:45 oil and 50:50 gas) or gross split
11. Jayapura Working Area
Location: Offshore and onshore Papua
Area: 7,299.41 km²
Resource estimate: ± 19.4 tcf of gas
Contract type: cost recovery (split PSC 55:45 oil and 50:50 gas) or gross split.
Translator: Putu Indah Savitri, Yashinta Difa
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
Copyright © ANTARA 2026
