First deepwater gas draw off Sabah boosts country’s investment potential

KUALA LUMPUR – Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has confirmed an inaugural gas production from the Rotan and Buluh fields in Block H off the Sabah coast, offshore Malaysia on February 6, augmenting Malaysia’s petroleum investment potential.

In a statement today, Petronas said PTTEP Sabah Oil Ltd, a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Ltd (PTTEP) is the operator for Block H, partnering with PT Pertamina Malaysia Eksplorasi Produksi and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, its subsidiary.

PTTEP is a national petroleum exploration and production company in Thailand, while Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas company.

Petronas senior vice-president of Malaysia Petroleum Management Mohamed Firouz Asnan said the gas production reflects a strong collaboration between Petronas and the investors.

“Both parties bring together expertise and technologies to monetise stranded deepwater gas fields through the evacuation of gas via PFLNG Dua, which is operated by Petronas Floating LNG Ltd.

“Upon expected commercial delivery of its first LNG (liquefied natural gas) cargo by the middle of March 2021, Petronas will become the first global energy company to own and operate two floating LNG facilities,” he said, adding that the strong support from the Sabah government also played a significant role in realising the achievement.

Producing from a water depth of more than 1,100m, the project marks another significant milestone in Malaysia’s upstream sector as it is the first deepwater gas field with a target production capacity of 270 million standard cubic feet per day. 

The gas is received by Petronas’ second floating LNG facility, PFLNG Dua, for the LNG export market. 

Production from Block H joins the ranks of existing production from three deepwater blocks offshore Malaysia.

Four additional deepwater blocks are being offered in the upcoming Malaysia Bid Round 2021 scheduled for February 26. 

“Petronas welcomes further investment to unlock deepwater potential in realising the vision to make Malaysia the deepwater hub in Southeast Asia,” added the national oil and gas corporation. – Bernama, February 16, 2021