Eni and Petronas Launch Southeast Asia Gas Joint Venture Searah
June 8, 2026
Eni and Petronas have officially established Searah, a new 50/50 joint venture combining selected businesses across Indonesia and Malaysia, creating what has been described as Southeast Asia's largest independent integrated energy company.
The launch comes seven months after the signing of the investment agreement in November 2025 and 16 months after the companies announced a memorandum of understanding in February 2025.
Searah combines assets in Indonesia and Malaysia, bringing together a portfolio of 19 gas-producing and development assets, including 14 in Indonesia and five in Malaysia. The company will begin operations with production of more than 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and is targeting more than 500,000 boe/d of sustainable production within three years.
According to Eni, all required regulatory, governmental and partner approvals in Indonesia and Malaysia had been obtained and all conditions precedent had been satisfied.
The venture has secured a $6 billion revolving credit facility to support growth plans that include more than $20 billion of expected investment over the next five years. The planned investments will support the development of more than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent of discovered resources while also targeting additional exploration potential.
Searah's launch follows final investment decisions for the Gendalo and Gandang fields in the South Hub and the Geng North and Gehem fields in the North Hub, announced by Eni in March.
The projects contain nearly 10 trillion cubic feet of gas initially in place and around 550 million barrels of associated condensate, with production expected to begin in 2028 and reach plateau levels of 2 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas and 90,000 barrels per day of condensate by 2029.
The launch also follows Eni's Geliga-1 gas discovery in the Ganal block in the Kutei Basin, estimated to contain around 5 trillion cubic feet of gas and 300 million barrels of condensate in place.
Eni said Searah will help deploy the capital and resources required to achieve a short-term production target of 500,000 boe/d while advancing further development opportunities.
