Won Two Promising Oil and Gas Blocks... Entering the 'Big 3' of Southeast Asia
Production Sharing Contracts in Java Island and Maluku Islands
Expanding Carbon Capture and Storage Cooperation... Joint Research Initiatives
SK Earthon, the resource development subsidiary of SK Innovation, has secured two promising oil and gas blocks in Indonesia, completing its entry into the major oil-producing countries of Southeast Asia. This achievement comes just one month after its successful oil discovery in Vietnam last month, marking another significant milestone.
On May 22, SK Earthon announced that it had won bids for the "Serpang" block near Java Island and the "Binaiya" block near the Maluku Islands in the "2024 Second Resource Development Project Bid" commissioned by the Indonesian government. In addition, at the "IPA Convex 2025" oil and gas industry exhibition held in Indonesia from May 20 to 22, SK Earthon officially secured mining rights by signing a production sharing contract with the Indonesia Oil and Gas Upstream Regulatory Agency (SKK Migas). Key figures attending the event included President Prabowo Subianto and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia.
SK Earthon officially secured mining rights by signing a production sharing contract with the Indonesia Oil and Gas Upstream Regulatory Agency (SKK Migas) at the 'IPA Convex 2025' oil and gas industry exhibition held in Indonesia on the 21st (local time). Key figures attending the event included President Prabowo Subianto and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia. SK Innovation
The area of each block is approximately 8,500 square kilometers, which is about 14 times the size of Seoul. The Serpang block is a promising offshore block with active production in the surrounding areas. According to foreign media, the block is estimated to contain undiscovered recoverable reserves of about 1.2 billion barrels of oil and 6.3 trillion cubic feet of gas. SK Earthon holds a 14% stake in this block, while Malaysia's state-owned oil company Petronas holds 51%, and Japan's largest resource development company Inpex holds 35%. The three companies will jointly develop the block.
The Binaiya block serves as an exploration hub in eastern Indonesia and is estimated to hold 6.7 billion barrels of oil and 15 trillion cubic feet of gas. SK Earthon has secured a 22% stake in this block and will conduct joint operations with Pertamina (56%) and Petronas (22%).
SK Earthon plans to conduct geological analysis and seismic surveys over the next three years to assess drilling potential. With this latest entry, SK Earthon now has business bases in all three major oil-producing countries in Southeast Asia: Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Previously, between January and April, SK Earthon succeeded in discovering oil in Vietnam's 15-2/17 and 15-1/05 blocks. In Malaysia, the company acquired operating rights for the offshore "SK427" block in Sarawak in 2022.
An SK Earthon representative stated, "With this entry into Indonesian blocks, we have completed our Southeast Asia resource development clustering strategy map, covering China, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Based on our successful resource development experiences in Peru and Vietnam, we will work to make Indonesia a promising resource development region."
Meanwhile, SK Innovation is also expanding carbon capture and storage (CCS) cooperation with Indonesia through SK Innovation E&S. The company is conducting joint research with SKK Migas and is discussing cross-border CCS project cooperation between the two countries.
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