PETRONAS and Italy’s Eni officially announced the creation of Searah on June 8, combining their gas-producing and development assets in Malaysia and Indonesia under a 50:50 joint venture [1, 2]. The company manages a portfolio of 19 assets, including 14 in Indonesia and 5 in Malaysia, with initial production of about 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day [1].
Searah operates as an independent entity backed by a US$6 billion credit facility and plans to invest around US$20 billion over the next five years [1]. The joint venture aims to raise production to more than 500,000 barrels per day within three years [1]. The portfolio holds more than 3 billion barrels of discovered resources with additional exploration potential in the pipeline [1].
The partnership follows a memorandum of understanding announced in February 2025 and an investment agreement signed in November 2025 between both companies [1]. Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi described Searah as a reflection of the company's "proven satellite strategy that aims at building focused, high-quality businesses that can combine scale, efficiency, and growth" [1].
PETRONAS president Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik said Searah "aligns with PETRONAS’ intensified focus on exercising greater discipline in developing resources coupled with more agile capital deployment as well as stronger emphasis on sustained value creation across the gas value chain" [1].
Searah’s next step will be to execute its investment plan and pursue production growth targets, aiming to surpass 500,000 barrels per day within three years [1].
