Fresh gas discovery off Malaysia

Abu Dhabi-headquartered oil and gas company Mubadala Energy (former Mubadala Petroleum) has made a new gas discovery in Block SK 320, offshore Malaysia.

This block is operated by Mubadala Energy, which changed its name from Mubadala Petroleum earlier this month in line with its 2030 strategy to play “a key role” in the energy transition while expanding across the gas value chain and exploring investment opportunities in new energy sectors such as blue hydrogen and carbon capture.

The company has a 55 per cent participating interest in the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for this block and its partners, Petronas Carigali and Sarawak Shell, hold the remaining 25 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.  

Mubadala Energy’s partner, Petronas, announced the gas discovery in the Cengkih-1 exploration well on Tuesday. The well is located in Block SK 320 in the Central Luconia Province, about 220 kilometres off the coast of Bintulu, Sarawak, off Malaysia. 

Mohamed Firouz Asnan, Petronas Senior Vice President of Malaysia Petroleum Management, remarked: “We are thrilled by this latest discovery in Cengkih-1, building on the string of exploration successes in the Central Luconia region. The discovery confirms the large potential of this proven carbonate play type in Central Luconia.”

This exploration well was drilled to a total depth of 1,680 metres in August 2022, hitting more than 110 metres gas column in Miocene Cycle IV/V pinnacle carbonate reservoirs, firming up more gas resources within Block SK 320.

“The monetisation of this discovery can be expedited with a lower cost given the proximity to the many existing facilities, including that of Pegaga which started production in March this year. This latest success was enabled by the close partnership between Petronas and its petroleum arrangement contractors in expanding the resource base to meet the rising demand for gas in Sarawak, including the Petronas LNG complex in Bintulu,” added Asnan.

When the start of production at the Pegaga gas field was announced, it was described as a key producing field supplying gas to Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu.