Indonesian Oil Tycoon Arifin Panigoro Dies At Age 76

Indonesian businessman Arifin Panigoro, a key figure in the country’s oil and gas sector, has died at age 76. 

Panigoro was ranked No. 47 on the list of Indonesia’s 50 Richest in 2020, with a net worth of $550 million, before dropping off the ranking a year later. 

News reports said he died on February 27 U.S. time, while getting medical treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in the U.S. 

Panigoro founded the Indonesian oil and gas firm Meta Epsi Pribumi Drilling Company (Medco) in 1980—during the country’s second oil boom. At the time he started Medco, most of the players in the energy business in Indonesia were multinationals that had production contracts with state oil company Pertamina. 

He took his company public in 1994 and changed the name to Medco Energi Internasional. In 1998, Panigoro withdrew from Medco’s management, but remained an advisor, to focus his career in politics. His brother Hilmi took over the business operation. 

Medco Energi, which now has over $1 billion in market capitalization, continues to thrive under Hilmi. In oil and gas, Medco has expanded its exploration and production, working in Mexico, Libya, Tanzania, Oman, Yemen, Thailand and Vietnam. It also tapped into new businesses beyond oil and gas, adding power plants, gas distribution and trading. 

In October 2021, partnering with Anthoni Salim’s Gallant Venture, Medco announced it planned to sell solar-powered electricity to Singapore. The project is located on Bulan Island in Riau, close to Singapore. It is expected to have 670 MW of installed capacity in the initial phase and provide 100 MW equivalent of non-intermittent electricity to Singapore. 

In 2016, Medco group made headlines when it entered the copper and gold mining business. Medco acquired a controlling stake in Amman Mineral Internasional, which controls 82.2% of Newmont Nusa Tenggara, for $2.6 billion. Amman operates the 25,000ha Batu Hijau copper and gold mine on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, the second largest in Indonesia after Freeport’s Grasberg in Papua province. 

The Panigoro family has also expanded into construction, palm oil plantations, banking (in Bank Woori Saudara), hospitality and IT, though most of the wealth comes from Medco Energi. Aside from business, the family also manages a foundation promoting education. Arifin Panigoro was a member of President Joko Widodo’s advisory council and the founder of Stop Tuberculosis Partnership Indonesia. He was awarded the Bintang Mahaputera Nararya, one of the country’s highest civilian honors.