Searah, a joint venture (JV) between Italy’s Eni and Malaysia’s Petronas, has achieved first gas from the Maha gas field in the Kutei Basin just 21 months after its final investment decision (FID), boosting regional energy security and liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity.
Eni has announced the start-up of gas production from the Maha field in the West Ganal block at Indonesia’s Kutei Basin at a water depth of approximately 1,000 meters. This field comprises two subsea production wells connected to the existing Jangkrik floating production unit (FPU) by approximately 12 kilometers of flowlines.
Following initial processing onboard the FPU, the gas will be transported through the pipeline network to supply the domestic market and the Bontang liquefaction plant, which supplies LNG to both domestic and export markets.
The Maha field can produce 250 million standard cubic feet per day, bringing combined production from the Jangkrik FPU and the South Hub to a plateau of 750 million scfd. The Gendalo and Gendang project’s expected start-up and tie-in to the same FPU in 2028 will extend this plateau beyond the end of the decade.
According to Eni, the execution and start-up of production at Maha, following the start-up of Merakes East in May 2025, together with the final investment decisions announced in March 2026 for the North Hub (Geng North and Gehem) and South Hub (Gendalo and Gendang) projects, underscore its broader strategy to efficiently develop the gas resources discovered in Indonesia’s Kutei Basin.
The Italian player highlighted: “Maha is a key component of the South Hub development and the monetization of Indonesia’s offshore gas resources. These results reflect the close cooperation and shared objectives of all stakeholders involved, including Searah, its shareholders, and SKK Migas, Indonesia’s upstream oil and gas regulator.”
Eni directly operates the Peri-Mahakam PSC, the Makassar Strait PSC, and the recently awarded Sapukala block. The firm also signed two binding agreements last month to sell interests to Pertamina and Medco in selected Indonesian upstream assets operated by Searah.
The jointly owned company’s portfolio comprises 19 gas-producing and development assets, including 14 in Indonesia and five in Malaysia, currently producing approximately 350,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and aims to exceed 500,000 boe/d of sustainable production by 2028.