MARITIMEPOSTS.COM – Saumlaki, September 25, 2026 — The Masela Block, a large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) development project in the Arafura Sea, Tanimbar Islands Regency, Maluku, remains in the development stage and has yet to enter production, despite being designated a National Strategic Project (PSN).
Amid the ongoing development process, INPEX Masela, Ltd. has begun implementing various forms of social investment in communities surrounding its operational area, including support aimed at meeting the basic needs of people living in villages within the project’s surrounding communities.
One such initiative was seen in Bomaki Village, where 200 families received free packages of essential food supplies.
The program comes against the backdrop of socioeconomic challenges still faced by communities across the Tanimbar Islands Regency. Bomaki is among the areas experiencing economic pressure, as many households depend heavily on agriculture and informal livelihoods.
Household incomes remain relatively unstable, influenced by seasonal cycles, weather conditions, agricultural production, and fluctuations in the prices of commodities that serve as important sources of local livelihoods.
These circumstances also affect families’ ability to maintain adequate and sustainable access to food. Dependence on agricultural products and commodities such as copra leaves some households vulnerable to income uncertainty, particularly when production declines or market prices fluctuate.
Under such conditions, ensuring sufficient, diverse, and nutritious food for families, particularly young children, presents a significant challenge and is closely linked to concerns over stunting and malnutrition in Bomaki Village.
In response, the Tanimbar Islands Regency Agriculture and Food Agency, through INPEX Masela, Ltd.’s Social Investment Program and in partnership with Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW) Indonesia as the implementing partner, distributed essential food packages to 200 beneficiary families across 10 neighborhood units, locally known as Rukun Tetangga (RT), in Bomaki Village.
Each package contained five kilograms of premium rice, 750 milliliters of cooking oil, one tray of eggs, and one kilogram of sugar.
Bomaki Village Head Virgilius Lamere said the beneficiaries were identified through a data collection and survey process conducted at the neighborhood level, allowing the assistance to be directed to residents considered eligible to receive it.
He expressed appreciation for the support provided by INPEX Masela, Ltd. and expressed hope that cooperation between the company and the village administration would continue to grow. “This assistance is much larger than the assistance we have received in the past,” he said.
Head of the Tanimbar Islands Regency Agriculture Agency Agus Rettob described the food distribution as part of efforts to help residents meet their basic needs while improving household welfare.
According to Rettob, the value of the assistance should not be measured solely by the monetary value of the goods provided, but also by the direct benefits experienced by the recipients. He also emphasized the importance of strengthening local food production so that Bomaki can gradually move beyond being a recipient of assistance and develop greater food self-reliance.
To support this goal, the local government plans to assist residents by providing seeds and developing water-pumping facilities in household yards.
The initiative is intended to encourage residents to make productive use of available land for household food production while strengthening efforts toward food self-sufficiency at the village level.
Representing the company, Hanny Grasius Gladius Tanamal, Special Regional External Relation at INPEX Masela, Ltd., said the distribution was part of the company’s commitment to addressing social conditions among communities surrounding its operational area. “We are handing over 200 food packages to Bomaki Village today,” he said.
He emphasized that the support was expected to go beyond food distribution and eventually contribute to strengthening food security among the people of Bomaki.
Program Coordinator Wa Ode Husmayani explained that the food packages were provided free of charge to families in need as a form of support for meeting their daily basic food requirements.
She said the assistance was expected to ease household expenditure among beneficiary families while providing tangible and immediate benefits to the community.
The distribution of food assistance in Bomaki demonstrates that corporate social engagement can begin even before a large-scale project enters its production phase.
For communities surrounding the project area, the presence of investment is not only associated with future infrastructure development or economic activities, but also with addressing the social needs that families face in their everyday lives.
In the context of the Masela Block’s development, social investment of this kind represents an important dimension of the relationship between the project, government, company, and local communities.
The long-term sustainability of the project will not only be connected to its ability to produce and deliver gas, but also to the extent to which the development process creates opportunities to improve community welfare, strengthen food security, and reduce social vulnerability in villages surrounding the operational area.
