Pertamina Looks West
Indonesia’s Quiet Bid for a Seat in South America’s Oil Rush
Indonesia’s state oil company is circling the Guyana-Suriname basin, one of the world’s hottest offshore frontiers. It is not yet a player like Exxon or TotalEnergies, but it wants to become one.
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First, a reality check
The premise needs a small correction. Pertamina is not drilling offshore Guyana or Suriname. What has been confirmed is earlier-stage. Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said in September that Pertamina has already initiated exploratory discussions on cooperation in exploration and investment in the upstream oil and gas sectors of Guyana and Suriname. There is no announced block award, farm-in or drilling program. Reports suggest the company may acquire minority stakes in production projects rather than lead exploration itself.
So the accurate framing is that Pertamina is knocking on the door of the world’s most talked-about new oil province, not yet sitting at the table.
The prize
The region explains the interest. In Guyana, an Exxon-led consortium is already producing 900,000 barrels per day from the offshore Stabroek block. Next door, Suriname hopes to follow. Recoverable resources there are estimated at 2.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent and 12.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. The flagship is TotalEnergies’ GranMorgu project in Block 58, a $10.5-billion development with first oil expected in 2028.
Suriname is also drawing Asian national oil companies. Malaysia’s Petronas has recorded eight successful wells since it began exploring there and holds interests in eight offshore blocks. Its Sloanea gas discovery was declared commercially viable in November 2025.
Is a new global player entering the game?
Not yet, and probably not in the way Exxon or TotalEnergies did. Those companies operate the biggest projects, bring the deepwater expertise and carry the capital risk. Pertamina’s route looks different: a minority equity position in proven or near-proven assets, learning from experienced operators.
Two facts limit the comparison. First, Guyana’s boom is concentrated in one block. No discovery outside Stabroek has yet advanced to commercial development, so the best acreage is already taken. Second, Pertamina has hesitated before. Back in early 2025 its upstream arm was weighing an offer to operate a Suriname block, but was waiting for government policy and was concerned that geopolitical tensions could affect transporting the oil to Indonesia.
The better comparison is Petronas, an Asian state company that took the exploration risk in Suriname and now has discoveries to show for it. If Pertamina follows that path, it would join a growing Asian presence in the basin rather than rival the Western majors.
Why it matters to Indonesia
Energy security. Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry says the goal is to diversify supply sources and strengthen national energy security. The ministry’s reasoning is also about ownership: holding an equity stake in the source makes supplies from that region more secure. Indonesia has long been a net oil importer, with consumption well above domestic output, so a stake in foreign barrels is a hedge.
Reducing exposure to the Middle East. Reporting on the move says Indonesia wants to reduce its exposure to Middle East disruptions. Officials argue that acquiring equity in Latin American fields would reduce reliance on single-source imports.
A wider diplomatic push. The oil talks are part of a broader economic push into Latin America and the Caribbean, tied to an Indonesia-LAC business mission. For Jakarta, upstream investment is a way to deepen ties with a region that is growing in importance as a source of energy and a trade partner.
Limited growth at home. Indonesia’s mature fields are in decline, and a national oil company that wants to grow production must look abroad. Pertamina’s earlier interest in Brazil as well as Suriname and Guyana points the same way.
The risks
Distance is the first problem. Oil from the Atlantic coast of South America sits half a world away from Indonesia, and the 2025 concern about transport and geopolitics has not gone away. A minority stake also gives Pertamina little control over timing, costs or where the barrels are sold. A stake in Guyana or Suriname might simply feed global markets, not Indonesia’s refineries. Regional output is also expected to be modest in Suriname’s case, with projections of more than 200,000 barrels per day by the end of the decade, a fraction of Guyana’s current volume.
Guyana is still opening up, though. It is seeking to broaden upstream investment beyond Stabroek, with new acreage awarded after its first offshore licensing round and more seismic data being gathered ahead of another round. That gives newcomers a possible way in.
The bottom line
Pertamina is not yet the next Exxon or TotalEnergies. It is a hopeful entrant, still in talks, with strong strategic reasons to be there: energy security, diversification and a growing diplomatic agenda. Whether it becomes a real player depends on one thing it has not announced yet: a signed deal on a specific block. That is the development to watch.
