Jakarta. Petronas Carigali North Madura II Ltd, a unit of Malaysia's Petronas, has won the bidding for the exploration and production rights of oil and gas in the Bobara Block located in West Papua.

Tutuka Ariadji, the Director General of Oil and Gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, announced on Tuesday in Jakarta that Petronas Carigali North Madura II Ltd has been officially designated as the winning company for the Bobara Block, as outlined in the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister's decree.

The bidding started on Sept. 20, 2023, and concluded on Dec. 15, 2023. Petronas Carigali committed a total investment of $51,620,000 (Rp 808.42 billion).

The Bobara Block is located offshore of West Papua Province, covering an area of ​​more than 8.0000 square kilometers, with potential oil and gas resources estimated at 6.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

"With exploration activities in this new working area, it is hoped that significant new reserves of oil and gas can be found to increase oil and gas production in Indonesia," he said.

Apart from Bobara, the government has signed contracts for four oil and gas blocks in 2023, namely Akia and Bengara I situated in North Kalimantan, and Beluga and East Natuna Block in the Riau Islands.

Meanwhile, the oil and gas blocks that have not yet found a winner in the 2023 bidding include Natuna D-Alpha, Panai, Patin, Akimeugah I, and Akimeugah II.

Tutuka invites investors to engage in oil and gas exploration activities to contribute to national energy security.

"I want to emphasize that Indonesia still has abundant potential for oil and gas. We invite prospective investors and oil and gas companies with the capabilities and qualifications to collaborate with us in developing these resources. We also invite technology providers to support the development of the upstream oil and gas sector," said Tutuka.