Southeast Asia's Upstream Sector Sees $9.6 Billion in Assets for Sale Through 2027

Southeast Asia's upstream oil and gas sector is experiencing a shift from exits to strategic entries, with $9.6 billion in assets up for sale through 2027. Research from Rystad Energy highlights a competitive deal-making environment, where the focus has moved from non-core asset sales to strategic acquisitions. In 2025, around $6.7 billion in assets changed hands, marking a departure from the 2020-2024 period, which was dominated by majors trimming late-life positions and production sharing contract (PSC) expirations.

The $9.6 billion in assets is nearly evenly split between energy majors ($3.6 billion) and independents ($3.7 billion), with national oil companies (NOCs) accounting for $1.4 billion. Majors are selling assets in countries with limited upside to focus on core basins, while independents seek capital to advance pre-FID discoveries. NOCs are rationalizing late-life assets at home while eyeing entry elsewhere.

The next 18 months will be shaped by the conversion of pre-FID opportunities into mega M&A deals, the trajectory of premiums on producing assets, and the evolution of deal structures into strategic partnerships. Buyers will need more than capital to win; the premium will come down to the value creation plan behind the offer, according to Prateek Pandey, Head of APAC Oil & Gas Research at Rystad Energy.

The opportunities span nearly 45 PSCs across 12 provinces, holding 2.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) of net resources and about 145,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of production. However, 72% of the resources are in the pre-FID stage, while only 18% are producing. Key basins include Sarawak, the Andaman Sea, and the Kutei Basin, with Vietnam's Ken Bau holding the single largest resource on offer.