Petronas makes new 100 MMboe discovery offshore Malaysia

Petronas has made major oil and gas discoveries through the drilling of NC3 and Spaoh-1 wells in Blocks SK316 and SK306 offshore Sarawak.

In March 2010, successful drilling of the NC3 wildcat well and a subsequent appraisal well brought significant discovery for Petronas in Block SK316 with early estimation of 2.6 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf) of net gas in place. The wells were each drilled to a depth of almost 4,000 meters below sea level. Additionally, production flow test results of the wells demonstrate that the field is technically producible.

The Spaoh-1 well of 3,000m drilling depth, located in Block SK306, shows similar promise. It was drilled in December 2010 and found both oil and gas. The preliminary evaluation indicates around 100 million barrels (mmstb) of oil and 0.2 tscf of gas in place, respectively. Currently, the well is being prepared for production testing.

These discoveries support Petronas' strategy to intensify exploration activities in Malaysia and is expected to further enhance exploration potential offshore Sarawak.

In the next three years, over 50 exploration wells are expected to be drilled offshore Malaysia by Petronas and its production sharing contractors. These activities, especially if they result in discoveries, are expected to spur business opportunities in the oil and gas industry and will promote upstream investment in the country.