Petronas, Eni to create new corporate entity for offshore operations

Eni and Petronas will establish NewCo, a jointly-owned independent company that will manage their respective upstream assets in Indonesia and Malaysia.

NewCo will be a financially self-sufficient entity, which could invest more than $14 billion over the next five years to support at least eight planned development projects and drilling of 15 exploration wells.

The partnerships’ goal is to develop around 3 BBoe of discovered reserves and open an estimated 10 Bboe of unrisked exploration potential.

NewCo will integrate multiple gas-producing fields and development assets across Malaysia and Indonesia, providing initial production of over 300,000 boe/d. Following the planned investments, this rate should increase to more than 500,000 boe/d.

Eni said the new arrangement will help speed up project development cycles, optimize capital allocation, deliver operational synergies in exploration, production, and asset management, and growth from both mature producing fields and exploration areas.

It follows Eni’s satellite model strategy, which has led to the formation in recent years of joint E&P ventures such as Vår Energi in Norway, Azule in Angola and Ithaca in the UK.

Eni and Petronas will now seek to tie up all regulatory, governmental, and partner approvals for the combination in both Malaysia and Indonesia and conclude the deal in 2026.