The Abadi Masela LNG project officially entered its construction phase on July 16, when Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto virtually officiated a groundbreaking ceremony from the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta while a simultaneous event took place at the project site in the Tanimbar Islands Regency, Maluku Province. The offshore gas field sits in the Masela Block within the Arafura Sea, roughly 750 kilometers south of Ambon and close to the maritime boundary with Australia. INPEX Masela Ltd, a subsidiary of Japan’s INPEX Corporation, operates the project with a 65 percent stake, alongside Indonesia’s Pertamina at 20 percent and Malaysia’s Petronas at 15 percent, following Shell’s exit from the venture in 2023. The facility is designed to produce up to 9.5 million tons of LNG per year, supply 150 million standard cubic feet of piped gas daily to the domestic market, and yield around 35,000 barrels of condensate per day. Indonesia has set distribution quotas requiring at least 60 percent of output to serve domestic demand, leaving the remaining 40 percent for export to buyers across East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Total investment has reached approximately 20.9 billion dollars, according to Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, including an additional 1 billion dollars set aside solely for carbon capture and storage technology. Front end engineering design work had reached 79.56 percent completion as of early July, ahead of schedule, though INPEX has not yet reached a final investment decision, which the government is targeting by the end of 2026.

Maluku Province Energy Security and Indonesia’s Wider LNG Buildout

Abadi Masela is not the only major gas project reshaping eastern Indonesia’s energy map. Just across the water in West Papua, BP’s Tangguh LNG complex has quietly moved past its own expansion milestone: Train 3, once celebrated at a 2023 launch presided over by then President Joko Widodo, reached full operational capacity in April 2024 and now runs alongside Trains 1 and 2 to give the Tangguh facility a combined capacity of 11.4 million tons per year. BP reported this year that all three trains are operating normally following scheduled maintenance, with the company also progressing a carbon capture project at the nearby Ubadari field. The pairing of Tangguh and Abadi Masela underscores how eastern Indonesia, long treated as a resource frontier, has become the center of gravity for the country’s gas strategy. A study by the Institute for Economic and Social Research at the University of Indonesia projects Abadi Masela alone could contribute roughly 137.7 billion dollars to national GDP through 2055, a figure that would dwarf Tangguh’s already substantial fiscal contribution of an estimated 2.13 billion dollars under the 2026 state budget. Together the two projects illustrate a deliberate government strategy of anchoring energy security and industrial development in Papua and Maluku rather than concentrating gas infrastructure closer to Java.

Abadi Masela LNG Timeline and What Comes Next

With construction now underway, INPEX still faces a critical hurdle before full scale building can proceed: the final investment decision, expected once FEED work concludes later this year. Several contract packages, including the floating production, storage and offloading unit, subsea infrastructure, and gas export pipeline, have already been awarded, with the FPSO package structured under a dual FEED arrangement that keeps two contractor consortiums competing before one is confirmed for the engineering, procurement and construction phase. INPEX has said the detailed EPC bid will be reviewed once FEED deliverables are finalized at the end of 2026. Indonesian officials project first production sometime in the 2029 to 2030 window. The government estimates the construction phase alone will generate around 12,000 direct jobs, with ripple effects expected for local small and medium enterprises across Maluku. President Prabowo has framed the project as central to national industrialization, though with FID still pending, the timeline and final contractor lineup remain subject to change.

Project Fact Sheet

• Project Name: Abadi Masela LNG Project
• Location: Masela Block, Arafura Sea, Tanimbar Islands Regency, Maluku Province, Indonesia
• Project Value: Approximately 20.9 billion dollars, including 1 billion dollars for carbon capture and storage, per Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister
• Client/Owner: INPEX Masela Ltd (65 percent), Pertamina (20 percent), Petronas (15 percent)
• Key Components: Onshore LNG plant, floating production storage and offloading unit, subsea umbilicals risers and flowlines, gas export pipeline, integrated carbon capture and storage
• Production Capacity: 9.5 million tons of LNG per year, 150 million standard cubic feet of domestic piped gas daily, up to 35,000 barrels of condensate per day
• Procurement Model: Dual FEED arrangement for the FPSO package, with FEED and EPC contracts awarded to the same consortium
• Construction Start: Groundbreaking held July 16, 2026
• Expected Completion: First production targeted for 2029 to 2030, pending final investment decision
• Jobs Created: Approximately 12,000 direct jobs during construction, according to a University of Indonesia study
• Strategic Impact: Projected to contribute roughly 137.7 billion dollars to Indonesia’s GDP through 2055

Project Team

• Operator: INPEX Masela Ltd, a subsidiary of INPEX Corporation
• Partners: Pertamina and Petronas
• Government Oversight: Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), led by Minister Bahlil Lahadalia
• National Development Planning Minister: Rachmat Pambudy
• Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Minister: Nusron Wahid
• State Secretary: Prasetyo Hadi
• President: Prabowo Subianto, who officiated the groundbreaking ceremony

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the Abadi Masela LNG project be completed? Indonesian officials expect first LNG production sometime between 2029 and 2030, though the timeline depends on INPEX reaching a final investment decision, targeted for late 2026.

How much does the Abadi Masela LNG project cost? The project carries an estimated investment of approximately 20.9 billion dollars, including 1 billion dollars earmarked for carbon capture and storage technology.

Who is building the Abadi Masela LNG project? INPEX Masela Ltd operates the project with a 65 percent stake, alongside partners Pertamina at 20 percent and Petronas at 15 percent.

Where is the Abadi Masela LNG project located? The project sits in the Masela Block in the Arafura Sea, off the Tanimbar Islands Regency in Indonesia’s Maluku Province.

How much LNG will the Abadi Masela project produce? The facility is designed to produce up to 9.5 million tons of LNG annually, alongside 150 million standard cubic feet of domestic piped gas and 35,000 barrels of condensate per day.