Indonesia’s state-owned oil company Pertamina has expressed interest in acquiring oil assets in Nigeria and participating in the country’s 2026 licensing round, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said.
The development followed a meeting between NUPRC Chief Executive Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Arif Havas Oegroseno and Pertamina’s Vice President for Upstream Business Development, Toriq Abdat.
According to the NUPRC, Pertamina is seeking to expand its upstream operations beyond Indonesia and is considering opportunities in Nigeria, including producing assets and projects nearing production or a final investment decision.
Abdat said Pertamina had received a mandate to expand its international operations and was already exploring opportunities outside Indonesia.
The company is also open to both competitive bidding and bilateral arrangements as it evaluates investment opportunities in Nigeria, according to the regulator.
The talks come as Nigeria prepares for its 2026 licensing round, which NUPRC has said will include new acreage across deepwater, shallow-water and potentially frontier onshore basins.
NUPRC said the 2026 round is part of efforts to increase Nigeria’s crude production to three million barrels per day by 2030. The commission currently puts Nigeria’s production at about 1.6 million to 1.7 million barrels per day.
Eyesan said the licensing round was one of the strategies being deployed to achieve the production target, describing the goal as ambitious but achievable.
NUPRC also said Nigeria and Indonesia share interests in energy security, resource utilisation and attracting investment into their respective petroleum sectors.
Beyond oil and gas, the Indonesian delegation expressed interest in opportunities in the fertiliser sector. Pertamina is developing a fertiliser plant aimed at reducing Indonesia’s dependence on supplies from the Middle East amid disruptions linked to global conflicts.
The NUPRC said both sides agreed to continue discussions through parallel commercial and diplomatic channels.
Nigeria’s next licensing round is expected to begin in early October. NUPRC Chief Executive Eyesan previously said the exercise would include 13 blocks that did not receive bids in the previous licensing round, alongside new acreage.
In July, NUPRC announced that 31 companies had emerged winners of 37 oil and gas blocks offered in the 2025 licensing round. The regulator said 143 companies submitted 200 bids for the 50 blocks put on offer.
