Singapore-based Jadestone Energy plc has confirmed plans to expand its upstream oil and gas presence in Indonesia by acquiring stakes in already-producing fields, with Indonesia’s upstream regulator SKK Migas disclosing the company’s intentions following a late-April meeting between Jadestone CEO T. Mitch Little and SKK Migas Head Djoko Siswanto. The move positions Jadestone as an active acquirer in Indonesia’s upstream sector at a time when elevated oil prices and geopolitical supply disruptions are prompting Jakarta to court additional investment to sustain national production targets.
SKK Migas Head Djoko Siswanto confirmed that Jadestone is pursuing a farm-in approach rather than greenfield exploration. “Interested in farming into fields that are already producing. For new exploration, not yet,” Djoko told reporters in Jakarta on May 4, 2026. A farm-in transaction gives a company a participating interest in an existing block by acquiring a stake from the current operator, allowing faster access to production revenue compared to exploration-stage entry.
Key Facts At A Glance
- Jadestone Energy is Singapore-based and listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker JSE
- The company currently operates the Lemang Working Area in Jambi province, onshore Sumatra, at an average production rate of approximately 6,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day
- The Lemang Production Sharing Contract contains the Akatara gas field, which commenced commercial gas sales in July 2024 and holds independently estimated 2P reserves of 25.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, comprising 83 billion standard cubic feet of gas and 11.7 million barrels of LPG and condensate
- Akatara gas is sold to PT Pelayanan Listrik Nasional Batam under a long-term gas sales agreement for local power generation
- Jadestone has not disclosed specific target blocks for the proposed farm-in, with Djoko confirming that internal evaluations are ongoing
- Pertamina Hulu Energi, the upstream subholding of PT Pertamina, separately reported Q1 2026 production of 956 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, with oil output at 494 thousand barrels per day and gas at 2.75 billion cubic feet per day
- SKK Migas has set a 2026 upstream investment target of $16 billion, up 3.7% from 2025 projections
Jadestone’s expansion ambitions span both onshore and offshore assets from western to eastern Indonesia, according to Country Manager Andi Iwan Uzamah, who described the company’s approach as targeting development and production-stage assets that can be optimized quickly, including underperforming or stranded assets. “Our focus is on assets already at the development or production stage so they can be optimized immediately. We are also open to strategic cooperation through partnerships or acquisitions, including for assets that have not been optimally developed,” Uzamah stated in the company’s official communication to SKK Migas.
Jadestone’s CEO T. Mitch Little met with Djoko in late April 2026, underscoring the seriousness of the company’s Indonesia expansion plans at a time when Jakarta is seeking to grow its oil lifting toward a longer-term target of 1 million barrels per day. SKK Migas confirmed it has been developing a facilitation framework that would connect potential farm-in partners with existing block operators and provide monthly updates on available opportunities.
The Hormuz Backdrop
The timing of Jadestone’s expansion announcement is notable. The Strait of Hormuz disruption beginning in early 2026 has placed sustained upward pressure on global crude benchmarks, which have remained in the $90 to $120 per barrel range, according to statements made by Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto on May 5, 2026. Elevated crude prices improve the economics of producing upstream assets and make farm-in valuations more attractive for operators willing to move quickly on discovered but underperforming fields.
Indonesia has been aggressively courting upstream investment as part of its national energy security response to the supply disruption. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has offered 110 new working areas for competitive bidding in 2026, while SKK Migas has stated a medium-term ambition to auction 60 additional blocks by 2028. A farm-in by Jadestone into one or more producing blocks would add incremental barrels to national output without the years-long timeline associated with greenfield exploration.
For Jadestone, the strategy reflects a wider corporate approach of acquiring stakes in producing or near-production Asian assets at competitive valuations. The company acquired its 100% interest in the Lemang PSC through a staged process beginning in 2020, redeveloping the previously decommissioned Akatara oil field into a producing gas, condensate, and LPG asset. The $130 million Akatara Gas Processing Facility, inaugurated in April 2025, now supplies power generation demand in the Batam industrial zone and LPG to the domestic cooking fuel market in Jambi.
Pertamina Q1 Context
Pertamina Hulu Energi’s Q1 2026 production results, disclosed in the same period, provide the backdrop against which foreign upstream interest is being assessed. The 956 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day output figure, with gas at 2.75 billion cubic feet per day, reflects a positive trajectory described by PHE Corporate Secretary Hermansyah Y. Nasroen as showing “a positive trend, both in terms of production as well as the addition of resources and reserves.” PHE drilled eight exploration wells in the quarter and conducted both 2D and 3D seismic surveys to identify new resource potential.
The combination of sustained national output from PHE and incoming foreign interest from companies such as Jadestone is consistent with SKK Migas’s framing of Indonesia as a stable, competitive upstream jurisdiction capable of attracting international capital even during a period of global market volatility.