PTTEP makes large gas discovery offshore Sarawak

PTTEP is reported to have made a large gas discovery in block SK410B offshore Sarawak, Malaysia.

According to Wood Mackenzie, the discovery could be in the region of 2tn cf, making it the seventh largest global discovery of the year. It is in the deeper, high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) reservoir of the basin, and looks potentially to have relatively ‘clean’ gas qualities and low impurity content.

‘The discovery is located in the gas-rich Sarawak-Luconia-East Natuna Basin, which has enjoyed an exploration success rate of 55% over the past 10 years, above the 37% global average,’ comments Senior Analyst Huong Tra Ho. ‘The Miocene carbonate play, in particular, has produced a number of high-profile finds over the years, including Pegaga, B14, Kuang North and Kasawari. But issues around gas impurities and contaminants have stymied development plans for some of the fields.’

‘We expect Lang Lebah to have a high chance of commercialisation as feedgas into the Malaysia LNG (MLNG) complex. The plant is in urgent need of new supply as existing sources have only met 85% of its requirements in 2018. Legacy fields have experienced sand influx and water breakthroughs, while many of the remaining undeveloped discoveries require advanced CO₂ and H₂S processing. Gas quality will thus be crucial to determining the speed and ease of future monetisation plans for Lang Lebah, which is also close to existing infrastructure.’

‘For PTTEP, Lang Lebah highlights the company's capability in handling technically challenging reservoirs and reinforces its business development credentials. The discovery is now the largest operated find in company history, ahead of the Zawtika field (~280 mn boe) in Myanmar. It also represents a big win for the Thai national oil company, which has been aggressively securing resources across Southeast Asia over the past year, particularly Malaysia. The news comes on the back of PTTEP's acquisition of Partex and Murphy Oil's Malaysia portfolio, which together make it the third largest upstream acquirer in 2019.’