[5] The biggest and most populous district is Arjasa, which includes the town of that name located in the west of the island.

The towns of Arjasa and Kalikatak, both on Kangean Island, are the area's largest population centres.

[citation needed] They are administered as three districts (kecamatan) of Sumenep Regency - Arjasa, Kangayan, and Sapêken.

The natural gas fields were first discovered and developed by the United States corporation ARCO, which became a subsidiary of BP in 2000.

In mid-2004, BP sold its Kangean holdings to an Indonesian corporation, PT Energi Mega Persada.