Murphy Oil Corp. Contract for Offshore Exploration in Malaysia Terminated

Murphy Oil Corp. announced Wednesday that its contracts with Malaysia allowing offshore exploration on two tracts of land have been terminated, as the land now belongs to Brunei.

Malaysia awarded production-sharing contracts to the El Dorado-based company in 2003. But activity in the areas, designated as Block L and Block M, has been suspended while the ownership dispute between the two countries, which have long-standing border disputes, was resolved, said Murphy spokesman Mindy West.

Petroliam Nasional Bhd., the state-owned Malaysian oil and gas company, informed Murphy that the designated areas no longer belong to Malaysia in a letter dated April 7, Murphy said in a news release Wednesday. The decision does not affect Murphy’s production or reserves, West said.

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Source: Murphyoilcorp,April 22, 2010;