02/06/2026 by Jay Hatton
The governments of Indonesia and Malaysia have greenlit a transfer of ownership for gas and oil assets to support a new joint venture. The venture is between two industry giants, Italy’s Eni and Malaysia’s state-funded company Petronas.
Addressing the approval at the Indonesian Petroleum Association Convention and Exhibition, which took place last month, Petronas’ head for Indonesia, Yuzaini Md Yusof, stated that the company had signed a contract with Eni in late 2025 to set up a joint venture called SEARAH. The new business will manage a total of 19 assets, five of which are in Malaysia and 14 based in Indonesia.
An international operator, Petronas conducts business activities all over the world and frequently collaborates with other oil companies in joint ventures. Continuing partnerships include its involvement with UK supermajor Shell and France’s TotalEnergies, which operates the Total Lubricants brand. Petronas also has its own line of lubricants that include a diverse range of products like rust preventative oil, gas compressor oil and turbine oil, serving applications that include marine, industrial and energy generation, among others.
Together, the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia have approved transfer of production-sharing contracts for the assets from Eni and Petronas to SEARAH. The two oil and gas companies are now completing their internal processes that will complete the transaction, with the brand-new venture expected to launch operations in July.
The new entity will combine development and production assets across Indonesia and Malaysia. Initial production capacity is expected to be over 300,000 boepd (barrels of oil equivalent per day) and analysts anticipate output will increase to more than 500,000 boepd.
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