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Shell makes third deepwater discovery off Malaysia; Conoco a JV partner
A third Malaysian success has been announced for an exploration combine led by Shell.
The deepwater wildcat drilled by Shell Malaysia’s upstream company, in a joint venture with ConocoPhillips and Petronas Carigali, encountered “significant hydrocarbon columns in high-quality reservoir rock” off the Malaysian state of Sabah. The find was announced Oct. 10.
According to Shell Malaysia, the Ubah-2 discovery well and an appraisal sidetrack were drilled in about 4,650 feet of water in Block G northwest of Sabah. No other details about the well’s total depth or yield were provided.
Two prior wells by the partnership also were successful. They were the Gemusut-1 well in Block J and the Malikai-1 in Block G. Nearby Kikeh projected at 400 million barrels Nearby is the Kikeh field being developed by Murphy Oil Co. It is projected to hold at least 400 million barrels of oil. Murphy has 80 percent and Petronas Carigali the rest.
There’s no word so far on what the Shell-led group is expecting from its discoveries, but the buzz is very positive.
Shell has major involvement in Malaysia, the region’s second-largest producing country. Shell is involved in several other offshore fields off Sabah and has more than a dozen production-sharing agreements with Petronas, the Malaysian national oil company, to explore off Terengganu and Sarawak as well. ConocoPhillips also has interests ConocoPhillips also has other interests in the area, with a contract signed in March for appraisal and development of the Kebabangan field, also in waters northwest of Saban. That field, in waters 400 to 800 feet deep, was discovered in 1994, when an initial exploration well found a thick gas column with a thin oil rim. A 2002 well showed gas as well as an oil column in several intervals, according to ConocoPhillips, which has a 40 percent interest to 60 percent for Petronas Carigali, the E&P arm of Petronas. A joint company based in Malaysia will be the operator there.
In the Shell-led venture on Block G, Shell Malaysia is operator with 35 percent, while ConocoPhillips also has 35 percent and Petronas Carigali the remaining 30 percent.
—Allen Baker
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