Gas discovery to boost Sarawak’s O&G scene

by Ronnie Teo, ronnieteo@theborneopost.com. Posted on February 15, 2012, Wednesday

NATURAL RESERVES: Image of one of Petronas’ platforms off the coast of Malaysia. The new discoveries amount to an estimated recoverable reserve of almost four trillion cubic feet, almost four per cent of Malaysia’s current natural gas reserves of 14.8 million barrels of oil equivalent. – AFP photo

KUCHING: Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) two new gas discoveries offshore Sarawak will continue to fuel the excitement for oil and gas investments in and around the state.
According to an analyst from AmResearch Sdn Bhd (AmResearch), while these new gas finds would need another three to five years of analysis and interpretation of seismic data before progressing to the initial development phase, this would certainly provide excitement to the industry here.
“Sarawak is a major state gas producer and exporter, with the country’s only liquefied natural gas plant located in Bintulu,” the analyst highlighted.
“Over the next twelve months, we expect Shell’s massive oil recovery projects in the Baram Delta off Sarawak to gain prominence. This involves the Bokor, Bakau, Baram, Baronia, Betty, Fairley Baram, Siwa, Tukau and West Lutong oilfields.”
To recap, Petronas on Monday announced two gas discoveries in the Kasawari and NC8SW fields in Block SK316 offshore Sarawak using exploration wells Kasawari-1 and NC8SW-1.
These were the latest wells drilled in Block SK316 which was part of Patronas’ strategy to intensify domestic exploration and prolong its reserves.
These discoveries amounted to an estimated recoverable reserve of almost four trillion cubic feet, almost four per cent of Malaysia’s current natural gas reserves of 14.8 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Oil and gas analyst from OSK Research Sdn Bhd Jason Yap believed this was good overall for the oil and gas industry in Malaysia.
“Generally, this will leave a positive impact for the industry, especially for local service providers,” he outlined in a telephone interview.
“They currently have a utilisation rate between 50 to 60 per cent. With this move, it could be boosted to more than 70 per cent.
“So for calendar year 2013, this will definitely be the year for oil and gas,” he enthused.
In the nearer horizon, AmResearch’s oil and gas analyst anticipated more fresh news from Petronas, particularly on its RM15 billion fast-tracked programme to develop gas reserves from a cluster of fields in the North Malay basin off Peninsular Malaysia.
“This project is expected to commence production towards the end of 2013,” he highlighted.
“Initial beneficiaries for the North Malays basin development will be fabricators such as MMHE, Kencana Petroleum Bhd, SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd and Dialog Group Bhd,” he added.
“Also, UMW Oil & Gas Corporation Sdn Bhd, which provides oil country tubular goods and pipelines and rig services, as well as Wah Seong Corp Bhd which provides gas compression modules and pipe-coating services, could likewise benefit from this.”