Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) has announced the successful exploration of six oil and gas wells in five blocks on the island of Borneo.
“Gedombak well in block SK306 and Mirdanga well in block SK411 (in Balingian province), Sinsing well in block SK313, Machinchang and Pangkin wells in block SK301B and Kalung Emas well in block SK315 (in West Luconia province) are from new and existing oil fields of gas companies and new and existing oil exposures in Malaysia,” he said. a press release.
The discoveries were made by Petronas’ wholly-owned subsidiary Petronas Carigali Sendirian Bhd.
Petronas had already confirmed success in Block SK306. The Nahara-1 well produced light oil “with minimal contaminants,” it said on Dec. 7, 2022, announcing the “major oil discovery.”
The wells are located in the Sarawak Basin in eastern Malaysia.
“This string of successful discoveries clearly shows the untapped exploration potential of Malaysia’s basins, waiting to be discovered by companies that are willing to adopt new and innovative ways,” Adif Zulkifli, Petronas’ executive vice president and CEO of Upstream, said in a statement.
“We hope this will provide the impetus for more companies to participate and invest in Malaysia’s Upstream sector, especially on the exploration front,” he added.
Petronas had offered 10 exploration blocks for the country’s oil and gas licensing round by 2023. These are located in the Malay, Penyu, Sabah and Sarawak basins. “These blocks cover several geological play scenarios with significant prospects to explore, providing opportunities for investors seeking ‘advanced energy’ – low-cost, low-carbon energy,” the company said on February 15 in launching the tender.
Petronas also signed production-sharing contracts on February 15 for nine exploration blocks offered in the previous licensing round. The drilling capital of the contracts is expected to amount to USD 372.5 million (MYR 1.7 billion). “Furthermore, the award of these nine blocks has also reduced Malaysia’s number of open blocks by about a third,” Petronas said.
Petronas attributed the recent discoveries to its “bundled exploration” approach, which it said is “a unique style of exploration suitable for very mature geological provinces”.
“Looking forward, PETRONAS Carigali is determined to replicate the success of this approach in its other exploration ventures in Malaysia,” Petronas said.
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