Searah, the joint venture between Eni and PETRONAS, has begun producing natural gas from the Maha field offshore Indonesia, bringing the deepwater development into operation 21 months after its final investment decision (FID).
The field, situated in the West Ganal block of the Kutei Basin, has a production capacity of 250 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD). According to Eni’s announcement on 30 October 2026, the start-up is expected to bring combined production from the Jangkrik floating production unit (FPU) and the South Hub to a plateau of 750 MMSCFD.
Maha is a subsea tieback development that uses the existing Jangkrik FPU rather than a new standalone offshore production facility. Located in approximately 1,000 metres of water, the field consists of two subsea production wells connected to the FPU through around 12 kilometres of flowlines.
Once the gas has undergone initial processing aboard the Jangkrik FPU, it is transported through the existing pipeline network for delivery to Indonesia’s domestic market and the Bontang liquefaction plant. The plant supplies liquefied natural gas (LNG) to domestic and international markets.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources had previously inaugurated the Maha-South Hub production facilities on 22 October 2026, alongside the commencement of gas deliveries from the Jangkrik North East No. 6 (JNE#6) well.
In its official announcement, the ministry said the Maha development was expected to contribute approximately 230 MMSCFD of additional gas supply, while the JNE#6 project would provide another 60 MMSCFD. The government projected that the combined additions would raise production from the existing level of approximately 450 MMSCFD to around 750 MMSCFD by 1 November 2026.
The ministry also disclosed an investment of approximately $891 million in Maha’s production facilities. The government figures describe anticipated additional gas supply and investment, while Eni separately reports Maha’s production capacity at 250 MMSCFD.
The Maha development forms part of the South Hub programme in the Kutei Basin, where Searah is developing offshore gas resources using existing production and processing infrastructure.
Further development is planned through the Gendalo and Gendang project, which is expected to start production in 2028. Its gas will also be connected to the Jangkrik FPU, with Eni expecting the additional development to extend the combined production plateau beyond the end of the decade.
The latest start-up follows the commencement of production at Merakes East in May 2025. In March 2026, Eni announced final investment decisions for the North Hub development, covering Geng North and Gehem, and the South Hub development involving Gendalo and Gendang.
Searah was established in June 2026 as an independent upstream company jointly owned by Eni and PETRONAS, with each shareholder holding a 50% interest.
The venture’s portfolio comprises 19 producing and development gas assets, including 14 in Indonesia and five in Malaysia. Its current production is approximately 350,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), with a target of exceeding 500,000 boe/d in sustainable production by 2028.
The Maha start-up also follows agreements signed by Eni in October 2026 to reduce its interests in selected Indonesian upstream assets operated by Searah.
Under the agreements, Eni will sell its 10% interests in the East Sepinggan, North Ganal and Rapak production sharing contracts (PSCs) to Pertamina. These assets include the producing Merakes and East Merakes fields and the Geng North–Gehem discoveries associated with the North Hub development.
A separate agreement provides for Medco to acquire Eni’s 10% interests in the West Ganal, East Ganal, Ganal and Muara Bakau PSCs. The assets include the producing Jangkrik field and the Maha, Gendalo and Gandang developments within the South Hub programme, together with the Geliga gas discovery.
Both transactions remain subject to government and regulatory approvals. Details of the agreements were previously covered in HMT News’ report on Eni’s Indonesian asset sales.
Beyond its interests in Searah, Eni continues to directly operate the Peri-Mahakam and Makassar Strait PSCs, as well as the recently awarded Sapukala exploration block.
