JOMBANG, thekabarnews.com—KH Abdul Hakim Mahfudz (Gus Kikin) has taken charge of Nahdlatul Ulama’s central executive board for the 2026–2031 term, bringing renewed attention to his longstanding role in Indonesia’s upstream oil and gas industry.

The Ahlul Halli wal Aqdi (AHWA) selected Gus Kikin as the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU) chairman through consensus in Jombang, East Java, on Monday, August 31. KH Anwar Iskandar announced the decision during NU’s 35th National Congress.

Beyond his work as a cleric and caretaker of the Tebuireng Islamic Boarding School, Gus Kikin has held a documented executive position at PT Energi Mineral Langgeng (EML).

The company operates the South East Madura oil and gas working area in East Java.

A 2018 report by Antara described EML as a company owned by Gus Kikin. A more recent official statement from PLN Energi Primer Indonesia identified him as an EML director in March 2025.

The public documents reviewed for this article did not contain an updated shareholder registry. Publicly available records did not independently confirm his current ownership percentage. They do establish his executive involvement with the company.

Indonesia’s Directorate General of Oil and Gas lists EML as the interest holder for the South East Madura working area and classifies the block under the exploitation stage.

The block covers onshore and offshore territory around Madura and northeastern Java, including operational areas associated with Sumenep and Situbondo. The government’s latest industry list identifies EML as its contractor.

EML’s exploration history includes the ENC-01 and ENC-02 wells in Tanjung village, Saronggi district, Sumenep. The company says it drilled ENC-01 in 2012 and later conducted further work around the ENC structure.

EML’s website cites a preliminary 2014 study identifying about 30 prospects and leads with an estimated 956 million barrels of oil and 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Those figures describe company-estimated geological potential. They should not be interpreted as proven reserves, recoverable volumes or current production.

The company’s executive summary labels the calculation as temporary. Public ESDM material reviewed for this article did not independently confirm the full 956-MMBO and 1.5-TCF figures as certified reserves.

The government approved the first development plan for the ENC gas field in April 2022. In March 2025, EML and PLN EPI signed a gas sales agreement intended to support electricity generation in Madura.

“At the initial stage, gas supply from the ENC field will amount to 7 BBTUD. We hope it can later increase to 30 BBTUD,” Gus Kikin said in PLN EPI’s official statement. BBTUD refers to billion British thermal units per day.

Publicly available sources did not indicate whether Gus Kikin would remain an EML director after becoming PBNU chairman. Neither organization had announced any change to his corporate role.

His appointment now places greater public scrutiny on how he manages the demands of leading Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization alongside his established experience in a regulated national energy sector.