In 2026, the first round of oil and gas block bidding in Indonesia came to an end, with six blocks completing equity allocation and over 141 million US dollars in promised investment landing. Sinopec has won the Bengara II onshore exploration block, taking root in the Indonesian onshore exploration market for the first time as an operator. Chinese enterprises are no longer limited to the traditional equity participation and investment model.

Indonesia's dual track bidding has landed in parallel

The first round of oil and gas block bidding in Indonesia in 2026 adopts a dual track parallel mechanism, with Sapukala and Natuna D-Alpha blocks using a direct bidding model, and the remaining four conventional blocks being publicly tendered. The total committed investment scale for the six blocks in this round is $141.51 million, with a matching signing bonus of $1.6 million. The Sapukala block was acquired by the Indonesian subsidiary of Italy's Eni Group, the Natuna D-Alpha block was acquired by PT Nations Petroleum, a local Indonesian company, with a committed investment of $103.09 million, the highest in this round, the Bengara II block was won by Sinopec International Energy Investment Hong Kong Holdings Limited, the Pesut Mahakam and Puri blocks were taken over by PT Timur Hijau Investama, a local Indonesian company, and the Rupat block was acquired by Xinda Energy Hong Kong Limited. Rombebai, Maratua II, and Jayapura, three block flow indicators, will be converted into regular open blocks in the future.

Natuna gas field restarts development

The Natuna D-Alpha block is located in the Natuna Sea area of the Riau Islands, with a total area of 10291 square kilometers and a potential natural gas resource of up to 222 trillion cubic feet. However, the carbon dioxide content in the strata exceeds 70%, and the effective recoverable reserves are only 46 trillion cubic feet. In the past, leading companies such as ExxonMobil and Petronas Indonesia have failed to achieve commercial production. The platform under the Indonesian Arsari Group, which won the bid for this block, plans to invest over 100 million US dollars over three years to promote systematic exploration and technological breakthroughs. It will carry out three special studies on comprehensive carbon dioxide treatment, large-scale 3D seismic acquisition, and pilot device design, and deploy one evaluation well and one exploration well. The Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mines has released a signal of flexible cooperation, and there is a possibility of introducing external partners in the future. Keywords: the Belt and Road news network, enterprise industry, oil and gas exploration

Sinopec's independent operation upgrade

After acquiring the rights of Bengara II block operator, Sinopec will independently coordinate the three-year exploration cycle, carry out core tasks such as geological research, 100 square kilometer 3D seismic processing, and exploration well drilling step by step, and independently complete the entire process of block resource verification and reserve evaluation. Prior to this, Guokan Company had always participated in projects in the Indonesian market as a shareholder investor and did not have control over the project. In 2024, Sinopec will enter the Sulawesi Merati block through equity participation, with Pertamina Hulu Energi, a subsidiary of Indonesia's national oil company, as the operator of the block. This entry is the first time in nearly a decade that Sinopec has obtained new exploration area in Indonesia, filling the gap in regional layout. The identity of an operator enables enterprises to fully control the pace of project operations, technology selection, and resource allocation, greatly enhancing the autonomy, controllability, and risk management capabilities of overseas projects.Editor/Gao Xue