Indonesian Oil Giant Eyes Nigeria’s 2026 Licensing Round

Indonesia’s national oil company, Pertamina, is considering participation in Nigeria’s 2026 oil licensing round as it seeks producing and near-production assets to expand its international upstream operations.

The company’s Vice President, Upstream Business Development, Toriq Abdat, disclosed this during a meeting with the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, and Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arif Havas Oegroseno.

The disclosure was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the NUPRC Head of Corporate Communications and Media, Eniola Akinkuotu.

Abdat said Pertamina had received a mandate to expand its operations beyond Indonesia and was assessing opportunities in several oil-producing countries, including Nigeria.

He said the company was particularly interested in producing assets, fields close to production and projects approaching final investment decision.

“We have been given a mandate to expand our business internationally; we are now in other countries outside Indonesia,” Abdat said.

According to him, Pertamina currently produces about 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day in Indonesia but its domestic exploration efforts have yielded more gas than oil in some deepwater areas.

He said the development had encouraged the company to look beyond Indonesia for additional oil resources.

Abdat listed Malaysia, countries in the Middle East, Iraq and Nigeria among the markets where Pertamina was pursuing opportunities.

“We would like to be in projects with governments. Producing assets, or near production, or before FID,” he said.

The Pertamina executive added that the company was prepared to consider both competitive bidding and bilateral arrangements as it evaluated available opportunities in Nigeria.

He said the company was also interested in supporting Nigeria’s efforts to raise oil production while securing additional energy resources for Indonesia.

Nigeria is preparing for its 2026 licensing round as part of efforts to attract new capital into the upstream petroleum sector and increase crude oil production.

Eyesan said the country had set a target of three million barrels per day by 2030, compared with current production of between 1.6 million and 1.7 million barrels per day.

“We have very aggressive targets: three million barrels per day by 2030, and today we are at 1.6-1.7 mbpd,” she said.

She described the licensing round as one of the strategies being used to increase production and attract investment into the sector.

Eyesan also said the NUPRC had institutionalised licensing rounds under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, making them a regular feature of Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry.

The commission’s last commercial bid conference, held in July, offered 50 assets to investors, with 37 eventually awarded.

She said Nigeria had also reviewed its fiscal terms to make upstream opportunities more attractive to international investors competing for limited global capital.

According to her, the reforms included measures aimed at lowering entry barriers, such as reducing signature bonuses.

Pertamina’s interest in Nigeria comes as the company seeks to increase its international upstream presence and secure additional energy resources outside Indonesia.

The company currently produces about 600,000 barrels of oil per day in Indonesia, while the country has set a target of 2.3 million barrels per day by 2030.

Beyond oil and gas, the Indonesian delegation also expressed interest in investment opportunities in fertiliser production.

The meeting ended with an agreement to continue discussions on the commercial and diplomatic aspects of Pertamina’s proposed expansion into Nigeria.

The engagement could pave the way for further assessment of Nigerian upstream assets ahead of the 2026 licensing round.