The acquisition was part of a joint bidding between Petronas Masela and its Indonesian partner, PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE), in which both entities would acquire Shell’s entire 35% participating interest in the Masela PSC, it said in a statement.

Both parties had signed the SPA pertaining to the Masela PSC which is located in the deep waters of the west Arafura Sea, Eastern Indonesia today.

Petronas said that PHE would take up 20% participating interest, while the operator of the Masela Block Inpex Masela Ltd would hold the remaining 65% share.

“The transaction is currently pending completion subject to regulatory approval and fulfilment of conditions precedent,” it said.

The signing of the agreement was held during the 47th Indonesian Petroleum Association Convention and Exhibition in Jakarta.

Petronas was represented by its president and group CEO Tengku Taufik Aziz and its executive vice president and CEO of upstream Adif Zulkifli, while Shell was represented by its director of finance for acquisition, divestment and NBD Asia Soo Kuo Tong.

“Our participation underscores the commitment to supporting Indonesia’s production target to achieve one million barrels of oil per day and 12 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas by 2030,” said Tengku Taufik.

Petronas said the project would also allow the group to contribute its technical expertise and strengthen its global liquefied natural gas portfolio to meet the growing demand for lower-carbon energy from Indonesia and across the region.

The global energy group is presently a joint venture partner in six PSCs located both onshore and offshore in Sumatra, the Natuna Sea, East Java, as well as in East Indonesia.

It is also the operator of the Ketapang PSC, North Ketapang PSC and North Madura II PSC, located offshore in East Java.