The national oil and gas sector has shown signs of recovery as oil production begins to climb steadily, surpassing last year’s levels, with the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKK Migas) revealing that national crude oil output was recorded at 583,275 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) in June, up from 580,405 BOPD in May and exceeding the full-year 2024 average of 580,142 BOPD.

The trend reflects improved operational performance among contractors and heightened efforts to meet state budget targets. From January to May 2025, oil lifting reached approximately 93.9 percent of the state budget (APBN) target, up from 91.3 percent over the same period in 2024.

“Production is trending upward thanks to effective coordination and impactful programs such as development of well drilling, well servicing, and workovers,” SKK Migas spokesman, Hudi D. Suryodipuro, said as quoted in a statement on Friday, June 20, 2025.

Efforts to enhance upstream performance have led to significant operational increases. As of May, 337 development wells had been drilled a 20 percent increase over the same period in 2024. Workover operations also rose to 422 wells (up 7 percent), while well service activities surged by 12 percent, reaching 17,140 instances.

SKK Migas attributes the rebound in production to the execution of key projects and a focused strategy to offset natural production decline rates.

“The challenge is maintaining optimal production by curbing decline and accelerating the completion of upstream projects,” Hudi cited.

Two new projects − Forel and Terubuk − recently inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto, are expected to contribute an additional 20,000 BOPD. Furthermore, expansion at the Banyu Urip field is projected to boost production by another 30,000 BOPD in the near term.

SKK Migas is currently prioritizing the implementation of development drilling programs and the timely completion of 15 major upstream projects this year.

“If we can deliver on these targets and optimize output, we may exceed the APBN target for oil lifting. Hopefully, by August 2025, we will have more good news to share,” Hudi said.