Aceh asks Prabowo to review the management of South Andaman oil and gas

BANDA ACEH - Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf or Mualem officially wrote a letter to the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto regarding the management of oil and gas (migas) at the Tangkulo South Andaman Field, the letter contains four special requests.

"Governor Mualem proposed the best for this country, especially for Aceh. There are four points that were conveyed. Now we are waiting for the central government's response," said the Aceh Government Spokesperson, Nurlis Effendi, quoted by Antra, Monday, July 6.

Nurlis said that in the letter from the Governor of Aceh numbered 500.16.7.2/7039, it had been received by the Ministry of State Secretariat on June 30, 2026. The matter concerns the review and revision of the approval of the Plan of Development (PoD) I Tangkulo Field Work Area (WK) South Andaman.

Nurlis explained that this letter to President Prabowo was also a response to the policy of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Bahlil Lahadalia, regarding the (PoD) I Tangkulo WK South Andaman Field.

Where, Minister Bahlil through his letter number T-85/MG.04/MEM.M/2026 dated March 9, 2026 for SKK Migas approved the PoD I for the processing of raw gas to be carried out with a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility in the sea.

Nurlis said that the four main points in the Aceh Governor's letter were that the Aceh government considered the amount of revenue (split) very small (4 percent gas and 6 percent oil) for the government contained in PoD I still needed to be reviewed. This means that it can be rationalized with national and Aceh interests.

The second point, the Aceh government proposed a scenario for processing raw gas onshore in the Special Economic Zone (KEK) Arun which has existing infrastructure from PT Arun NGL and is a National Strategic Project according to the 2025-2029 RPJMN and Asta Cita Prabowo-Gibran.

Furthermore, Governor Mualem hopes that President Prabowo is willing to direct the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources to review and revise the Agreement on the Tangkulo Field PoD I Plan in the South Andaman Working Area.

"The last point in the letter from the Governor of Aceh to the President is to ask for a special allocation of oil and natural gas for Aceh," he said.

He explained that the Andaman region has six main oil and gas blocks, namely Andaman I, Andaman II, Andaman III, Central Andaman, South Andaman, and South West Andaman.

The Tangkulo gas field, said Nurlis, is projected to produce around 300 MMSCFD of gas. Of this amount, only around 160 MMSCFD has a sales commitment through a Gas Sale Agreement (GSA) to PLN. The rest is considered to open up great opportunities for the growth of various downstream industries.

In addition to gas, the South Andaman field is also expected to produce around 7,500 barrels of condensate per day. This product can be processed into naphtha, kerosene, and gasoline which are raw materials for the petrochemical industry, paint, and fuel oil.

"The condensate will be the driving force for the birth of refineries. The real economic impact will emerge when various downstream industries begin to stand up and operate," said Nurlis Effendi.