In the waters about 70 kilometers off the coast of East Kalimantan, the Geliga-1 well operated by Eni, Italy, drilled to a depth of about 5100 meters and successfully discovered an astonishing natural gas reservoir. Preliminary assessment shows that the gas field contains approximately 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 300 million barrels of condensate oil, and the reservoir rocks have excellent physical properties. This well is located in a deep water area with a depth of about 2000 meters, which is another strong confirmation of the oil and gas potential of the Kutai Basin.

The equity distribution of this block is that Eni holds 82% and serves as the operator, while Sinopec holds the remaining 18% equity. This discovery is not an isolated event, but an important part of Eni's exploration sequence in the region. Following the discovery of the Geng North gas field in 2023 and the Konta-1 well in 2025, it further confirms the status of the northern Kutai Basin as a world-class natural gas production area.

This discovery coincides with Indonesia's "golden window period" of accelerating the development of deepwater natural gas. Just recently, Eni and its partners made the final investment decision (FID) for the southern hub (Gandoro and Gandang projects) and northern hub (North Geng and Gehem projects) in East Kalimantan.

The development plan for the northern hub is highly ambitious, with the construction of a floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) designed to handle up to 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 90000 barrels of condensate per day. The discovery of the Gliga 1 well is regarded by the industry as a potential "third hub" due to its enormous resource volume and proximity to the northern hub (only about 20 kilometers away from the Beigeng gas field). If integrated development can be carried out based on the existing FPSO and Bangtang liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant infrastructure, it will significantly reduce development costs and accelerate the production process.

For the Indonesian government, the discovery of the Gliga 1 well is a key bargaining chip to enhance national energy security. Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bakhril Rahadalya, emphasized at a press conference on April 20th that this discovery will significantly enhance domestic energy supply capacity. Eni's natural gas production in Indonesia is expected to experience explosive growth, jumping from the current 600 to 700 million standard cubic feet per day to 2 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2028, and is expected to reach 3 billion standard cubic feet per day by 2030.

For China, as a participant holding 18% equity, Sinopec has not only obtained substantial energy rights through this cooperation, but also further consolidated its influence in the field of deepwater energy development in Southeast Asia. The Indonesian government has promised to promote the project from exploration to development as soon as possible, which is expected to drive huge investment, create a large number of jobs, and become a new benchmark for energy cooperation between China and India.Editor/Yang Meiling