Eni reports giant gas discovery offshore Indonesia

Eni has made a giant gas discovery in the Kutei Basin offshore Indonesia that could hold reserves of about 142 bcm (5 tcf) of gas and 300 million barrels of condensate, the company announced on Monday.

The Geliga-1 exploration well was drilled in the Ganal block about 70 kilometres from the East Kalimantan coast, reaching a total depth of around 5,100 metres in water depths of about 2,000 metres. Eni said the well encountered a significant gas column in the targeted Miocene interval and that it is preparing for a drill stem test to assess the productivity of the reservoir.

The discovery follows the Geng North find made in late 2023 about 20 kilometres south of Geliga and the Konta-1 discovery announced in December 2025.

Eni recently reached FIDs for the Gendalo and Gandang South Hub project and the Geng North and Gehem North Hub project, with the North Hub set to use a newbuild FPSO with a handling capacity of 28.3 mcm (1 bcf) of gas per day and 90,000 boepd of condensate.

Eni said studies are under way on accelerated development options given the proximity to existing and planned infrastructure. The company added that combined Geliga and Gula resources could support an additional 28.3 mcm (1 bcf) of gas per day and 80,000 boepd of condensate and could underpin a third production hub in the Kutei Basin.

The Ganal PSC is operated by Eni with an 82% interest, with Sinopec holding 18%. The block is among 19 assets due to be contributed to Searah, the jointly controlled company announced by Eni and Petronas in November 2025 through which the partners plan to develop about 3 billion boe of resources.

In Indonesia, Eni operates across oil and gas exploration, development and production, with activities centred on acreage offshore East Kalimantan, including Jangkrik, Merakes and the recently sanctioned North Hub and South Hub gas projects.