A total of 10 hydrocarbon discoveries have been made offshore Malaysia in 2022 – twice what was made last year – following the increase of exploration activities in the country.

According to data provided by Petronas, eight oil and gas discoveries were made off the coast of Sarawak, and one each off the coast of Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia. The largest oil discovery was made by Petronas Carigali at the Nahara-1 well in Block SK306 within Sarawak’s Balingian province.

Discoveries were also made in Sarawak’s Central Luconia, Western Luconia, and Baram provinces, which are among Malaysia’s most prolific basins and home to many gas fields in the country.

Within Central Luconia, Shell had discoveries at the Inai-1 and Temu-1 wells in MLNG Block, while Mubadala Energy found more gas in Block SK320 at the Cengkih-1 well. In the emerging province of Western Luconia, ConocoPhillips drilled three exploration wells in Block WL4-00 and discovered gas at the Gagau-1 well while the Salam-3 and Benum-2 wells confirmed the extension of oil and gas accumulations in adjacent fault blocks.

In the matured Baram province, PTTEP made another gas discovery in Block SK410B through the Paprika-1 well, where the giant Lang Lebah was also discovered in 2019. In ultra-deepwater Sabah, TotalEnergies made an oil and gas discovery at the Tepat-2 well in Block N within the emerging Sabah Trough province, further proving the extent of the earlier oil and gas discovery of Tepat-1 in 2018.

Off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Hess found a new gas reservoir at the Bergading Deep-4 well in Block PM302 within the North Malay Basin.

“The year 2022 has been a good year for exploration in Malaysia. I am very pleased with the increased exploration activities where 16 wells were completed, with two more in progress, doubling 2021’s figure. Our 60 percent success ratio validates the prolific nature of the Malaysian basins. Most of the discoveries can be quickly monetized at a lower cost given their proximity to the extensive network of existing infrastructure,” Petronas’ SVP of Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM) Mohamed Firouz Asnan said.

“Our vast multi-client dataset covering emerging and frontier areas will continue to be the key in accelerating the time to drilling. Enabled by MPM’s long-term rig sequencing plan, our PACs are gearing up to drill as many as 30 exploration wells next year. These are part of the efforts to continue increasing the country’s hydrocarbon resource base to meet the growing energy demand, not just domestically but globally,” Petronas Senior General Manager of Resource Exploration MPM Azmir Zamri added.

Apart from the exploration success, there was an increased uptake in the Malaysia Bid Round 2022 where investors responaded strongly to the call for greater exploration investments. The Production Sharing Contract signings for the 2022 round bids are planned for February next year, followed by the launch of the 2023 bidding round.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com