Eni and Petronas Explore Joint Venture in Indonesia and Malaysia

Italy’s energy major Eni and Malaysia’s state-owned energy player Petronas have recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to delve into the possibility of establishing a joint venture (JV) holding company to oversee selected upstream assets in Indonesia and Malaysia.

The MoU, described as “exclusive,” paves the way for combining approximately 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of reserves with an additional 10 billion boe of potential exploration upside in the two Asian countries.

The envisioned JV aims to create growth opportunities in both nations, positioning the companies as significant players in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector in the region. Additionally, the JV targets achieving a sustainable production of 500 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd) in the medium term.

While the operational structure of the current assets will remain unchanged, Eni and Petronas plan to secure external financing independently. They also seek to formulate a comprehensive business plan to explore future opportunities in exploration, development, and portfolio growth.

With a commitment to ensuring production stability for Malaysian assets and facilitating timely new developments in Indonesia, both companies have notified the governments of the respective countries. The finalization of the transaction is contingent upon securing relevant governmental, regulatory, and partner approvals.

Eni, along with its shareholding partners CDP Equity and Siem Industries, has recently endorsed the proposed business combination of Saipem and Subsea7.

Petronas Announces MBR 2025 Licensing Round

Following the successful conclusion of the Malaysia Bid Round 2024 (MBR 2024) through agreements with Inpex, Petronas has unveiled a new licensing round, MBR 2025. This round comprises five exploration blocks and three discovered resource opportunities (DROs).