The Indonesian government has officially opened bidding for 13 oil and gas blocks in the first auction round of 2026.
The total potential resources across all these work areas are estimated to reach approximately 16 billion barrels of oil and 81.85 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The announcement was made by officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as part of a strategy to strengthen national energy security.
Two work areas are being offered through a direct bidding scheme: the Natuna D-Alpha block and the Sapukala block.
The Natuna D-Alpha block is estimated to hold reserves of approximately 2.86 billion barrels of oil, while Sapukala has a potential of about 2.3 billion barrels of oil.
Meanwhile, the remaining eleven blocks are being offered through a regular tender mechanism across various regions of Indonesia.
One area of particular interest is the Namori block off the coast of East Nusa Tenggara, which is estimated to hold enormous energy potential.
The area is projected to have resources of approximately 17.47 billion barrels of oil or 38.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The government is also offering the Rombebai and Jayapura areas in Papua, which have significant gas reserves.
The Rombebai block is estimated to hold approximately 14.75 trillion cubic feet of gas, while the Jayapura region is estimated to have a potential of around 19.4 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The bidding process will begin on May 20, 2026, with the deadline for direct bids set for July 6, 2026.
For regular tenders, several work areas are scheduled to close between July and September 2026.
In addition to opening new bids, the government is also awarding four oil and gas blocks to companies that won previous tenders.
One of them is the Akimeugah II area in South Papua and Papua Pegunungan, which is estimated to have a potential of around 15 billion barrels of oil.
This area has been awarded to Dongfang Exploration Oil Indonesia.
The government views this step as crucial for boosting national energy production, which has declined over the past decade due to the depletion of older oil and gas reserves.
Moving forward, the government also aims to open dozens of other new oil and gas blocks to ensure energy supply and attract investment in Indonesia’s upstream oil and gas sector.