Key Takeaways:
Searah, a 50-50 joint venture between Italy's Eni and Malaysia's Petronas, launches with more than 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production and a $20 billion investment plan.
MILAN — Eni SpA and Petronas have established Searah, a 50-50 joint venture combining their gas-producing and development assets across Indonesia and Malaysia, creating one of Southeast Asia's largest independent integrated energy companies.
"Searah is a strong new entity in Southeast Asia, combining our expertise with that of Petronas to support the development of energy resources in Indonesia and Malaysia, with a strong commitment to environmental protection and local growth," Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said.
The venture starts with an initial production base of more than 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and targets exceeding 500,000 boe/d of sustainable output within three years. Searah holds a portfolio of 19 gas assets — 14 in Indonesia and five in Malaysia — and has secured a $6 billion revolving credit facility to support growth.
The deal is part of Eni's "satellite strategy" to spin off specific assets and develop them separately with a partner. Searah plans more than $20 billion of investment over the next five years to develop over 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent of discovered resources while targeting additional exploration potential. The launch follows final investment decisions in March for the Gendalo and Gandang fields in the South Hub and the Geng North and Gehem fields in the North Hub — projects containing 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 plateau at 2 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas and 90,000 barrels per day of condensate by 2029.
Strategic rationale and regional consolidation
The joint venture comes 16 months after the companies signed a memorandum of understanding in February 2025 and seven months after the investment agreement in November 2025. All required regulatory, governmental and partner approvals in Indonesia and Malaysia have been obtained.
Searah also benefits from 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. The venture consolidates two of Southeast Asia's largest energy players in a region where gas demand is expected to grow as economies shift from coal-fired power generation.
The partnership positions Searah to compete with regional giants such as Indonesia's Pertamina and Thailand's PTTEP in the race to supply liquefied natural gas to Asian buyers. Southeast Asia accounted for roughly 25% of global LNG demand growth in 2025, according to industry data, and the region's gas production is declining in mature fields, making new investment critical to maintaining supply.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
