Japanese oil and gas player expands footprint off Malaysia

Japan’s oil and gas producer Inpex has secured two offshore hydrocarbon exploration licenses in Malaysia’s latest bid round.

Inpex reported on 15 February that it had executed production sharing contracts (PSC) with Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd. (PCSB) and Petroleum Sarawak Exploration & Production (PSEP) through two of its Malaysian subsidiaries.

The PSCs, awarded following the Malaysia Bid Round 2022, cover the deep water Block 4E and the shallow water Block SK418 offshore hydrocarbon exploration licenses located northeast of Sarawak.

Block 4E, located in water depths of between 120 and 2,000 meters, covers a 7,647 km2 area. Inpex Malaysia E&P 4E is the operator with a 52.5 per cent interest, while the remaining shareholders are PCSB with 40 per cent and PSEP with 7.5 per cent.

Block SK418 is located in water depths of between 120 and 1,300 meters and covers an area of 5,806 km2. PCSB is the operator with a 52.5 per cent interest, with Inpex Malaysia E&P SK418 holding 40 per cent and PSEP holding 7.5 per cent.

The exploration licenses are the first awarded to Inpex in Malaysia since the company’s successful bid for two exploration licenses off the coast of Sabah in 2012.

Inpex notes that the newly acquired licenses are expected to contribute to its shift to natural gas as outlined in INPEX Vision @2022 announced in February 2022, as well as expand operations in Southeast Asia, one of the company’s core business areas.

Speaking about activities in Malaysia, Inpex also recently signed a joint collaboration agreement with Malaysian oil and gas exploration firm Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) for the potential development of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Sarawak.

The project will target CO2 emitted from gas fields with high concentrations of CO2, petrochemical industries, power plants, manufacturing industries and other sources in Sarawak.