JAKARTA - Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Bahlil Lahadalia held a meeting with INPEX Corporation CEO Takayuki Ueda as the manager of the Abadi Masela Project in Japan.
During the meeting, Bahlil pressed for the giant gas project in the Arafura Sea to immediately enter the final investment decision stage and not to drag on.
Bahlil also appreciated this project with an investment value of 20 billion US dollars because it had made progress in development which reached about 25 percent.
Seeing this significant progress, Bahlil emphasized his desire for the Masela Eternal Project to be able to advance the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) in the second quarter of 2026 or at the latest in the third quarter of this year, so that in parallel it can conduct an Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) tender.
"Because we want this to be quick so that we don't drag it out any longer. This is 27 years, the time we want to wait until I am 60 years old. Moreover, it is my mother's village. So I think this year we can all tender EPC," said Bahlil in a statement to the media, Monday, March 16.
To achieve the FEED target, Bahlil offered INPEX to produce the Abadi Masela Field, which reaches 9 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA), if there is no serious buyer until the end of April 2026, to be purchased by Danantara, including supplies for the downstream program.
"So that there is certainty for buyers. I appreciate foreign buyers, but at the right time now the Indonesian state must be present, to work together with INPEX in order to ensure operations. So we are the only ones who buy," said Bahlil.
Responding to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, INPEX Corporation CEO Takayuki Ueda also conveyed his commitment to immediately completing the Abadi Masela Project.
"Not only the Minister, but we also have the same commitment to immediately work on Abadi. And after discussing with the Minister, we are even more enthusiastic to accelerate the completion of this Abadi project," said Ueda.
As for the administrative side, the progress of this project is getting stronger with the completion of a number of crucial permits at the beginning of 2026. The Environmental Approval with the document Analysis on Environmental Impact (AMDAL) was issued on February 13, 2026, following the approval of the release of forest areas from the Ministry of Forestry in January 2026. Full support from the relevant ministries shows the strong synergy of the government in escorting this jumbo investment to stay on track.
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