Bahlil Will Issue Permits for More than 40,000 People's Wells

JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia revealed that he would issue legality for 45,000 public wells as well as an aggressive roadmap to increase national oil lifting.

"Our old wells continue to carry out reactivation. In fact, now for more than 40,000 wells, we have issued some permits, such as in Jambi, South Sumatra, now in Central Java. Now we are speeding up the licensing process so that they can also contribute to increasing lifting," said Bahlil in a Working Meeting between the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and Commission XII of the DPR RI, quoted Friday, January 23.

Bahlil said the government had accelerated the licensing process in a number of oil-producing provinces so that production from the wells would immediately be recorded in the national calculation.

In addition, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has prepared additional strategies that are part of efforts to quickly hold and reverse the trend of declining production.

According to him, to increase national lifting, the government focuses on reactivating old assets and granting permits to people miners.

The second step focuses on the modernization of extraction techniques through the use of cutting-edge technology. According to him, this step is important to slow down the rate of natural production decline in existing wells.

"Technological interventions are also going well, we are doing it," added Bahlil.

The third strategy, he said, is that the government cuts bureaucratic barriers to accelerate the realization of new field production and ensure that development plans do not stagnate.

"How the POD-POD (Plan of Development) is completed, we also accelerate it. We have called all KKKS (Contract of Cooperation Contractor)," explained Bahlil.

Through the combination of legalization of more than 40,000 people's wells in strategic areas, he said, massive technological intervention, and acceleration of POD execution, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is optimistic that the lifting target in the Draft State Budget (RAPBN) 2026 can be achieved.

"This close synergy between the government, contractors, and the community is expected to become a strong foundation for Indonesia's energy independence," said Bahlil.