Malaysia’s Petronas and Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP) have announced they will exit the Yetagun gas project offshore Myanmar as they rationalise their upstream portfolios. Neither company denounced the military-led coup in their exit statements.
Canada’s Valeura Energy will buy two operated licences offshore Thailand from Singapore’s KrisEnergy, which was forced into liquidation last year, for a price of $3.1 million. There will also be certain contingent payments of up to a further $7 million related to future development milestones, said Valeura Energy.
Only five blocks out of 18 blocks offered in East Timor’s second licensing round have been awarded. East Timor’s National Petroleum and Minerals Authority (ANPM) said that it has awarded three onshore blocks and two offshore blocks.
Petronas has awarded Block SK427 off the coast of Sarawak to SK earthon, a subsidiary of South Korea’s SK Innovation, and Petroleum Sarawak Exploration & Production (PSEP) in an area where several discoveries were made last year. Petronas and SK will also collaborate on carbon capture and storage (CCS) opportunities.
The Indonesian government is preparing to launch domestic legal action against Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production (PTTEP) (BKK:PTTEP) relating to economic and environmental damages suffered by local people around Kupang following the 2009 Montara oil spill.
Specialist solar batteries supplied by Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, are providing power continuity for Pertamina’s GG unmanned gas wellhead platform offshore Indonesia. The platform is operated by Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) ONWJ, Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company and produces around 40,000 barrels of oil per day.
Repsol finished its 3D seismic shoot in Indonesia’s South East Jambi block onshore Southern Sumatra in December 2021 and is currently evaluating the data.
Australian-listed Carnarvon Energy (ASX:CVN) said today that it has raised A$70 million (US$52.7 million) via an institutional placement to help bring the large Dorado liquids development offshore Australia to a final investment decision (FID) this year.
Traditional landowners in Australia’s Northern Territory have launched legal action against South Korea’s export credit agencies in an attempt to block funding for the Santos-led $3.6 billion Barossa gas project, which will backfill the Darwin liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant.
Harbour Energy (LON:HBR) is on track to start high impact exploration drilling in its Andaman II PSC offshore Indonesia in the second quarter this year. The news adds to the excitement in Indonesia as other companies, including BP (LON:BP), look set to probe the archipelago’s deep waters, following recent fiscal and regulatory enhancements.
US engineering giant McDermott has delivered the first ever pipe-in-pipe flowline for production in India as part of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation’s (ONGC)'s KG-DWN 98/2 project in the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin off India’s eastern coast. Significantly, the development is the largest and one of the most complex subsea projects in Asia Pacific, involving major subsea infrastructure installation in ultra-deepwater.
Malaysia's Petronas has signed production sharing contracts (PSCs) for five offshore exploration blocks, namely SB412, 2W, and X located off the coast of Sabah, and SK439/SK440 situated off the coast of Sarawak. Significantly, Shell has signed up for ultra-deepwater exploration acreage.
The Pavo-1 exploration well near the Dorado field offshore Western Australia in the Bedout sub-basin has made a “significant oil discovery” that has an estimated breakeven cost at less than $10 per barrel, operator Santos (ASX:STO) said today.
The outlook for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production in Asia has taken a positive turn following Mubadala Petroleum starting first gas flows from Pegaga to the Petronas-led Bintulu LNG export complex in Malaysia.
Malaysia’s Petronas will explore the North Ketapang Block after winning the shallow-water acreage onshore and offshore East Java in Indonesia’s Petroleum Bid Round 2021.
BP (LON:BP) will carry out deepwater oil and gas exploration offshore Indonesia after winning the rights to the Agung I and Agung II blocks as part of the nation’s second bid round last year. The move offers a glimmer of hope for Indonesia’s struggling upstream sector that has seen big international firms, such as ConocoPhillips, exit recently.
TotalEnergies, which on 21 January announced a rapid withdrawal from Myanmar because the situation in the country no longer allowed the French company to make a “sufficiently positive contribution”, said its exit will be “responsible.”
Sunda Gas is busy completing various studies that could lead to the commercial development of the shallow-water Chuditch gas discovery offshore East Timor with a potential floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) development under consideration.
Plucky explorer Timor Resources has encountered “hydrocarbon shows of significance” while drilling its second well onshore East Timor as the company considers an initial public offering (IPO) to raise more funds in its quest to unlock the nation’s petroleum potential. Significantly, there are no firm figures for the hydrocarbon shows yet, but plenty of hope.
Chevron is seeking to sell its share of the Yadana gas field to Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production (BKK:PTTEP) as TotalEnergies gives its operated interest away for free in what appears to be a hasty retreat from Myanmar.
Brunei plans to boost production of oil and gas following the discovery of 42 million barrels of oil equivalent last year, according to energy minister Mat Suny bin Mohd Hussein. Significantly, the country is banking on new finds to reverse an expected decline in upstream output.
Mubadala Petroleum has re-started the process to find a suitable deep-water drilling rig for its 2023 campaign offshore Indonesia.
Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company’s (KUFPEC’s) recent exploration discovery at its Anambas-2X well in the Anambas Block offshore Indonesia has posted even better flow rates than initially announced.
PTT, Thailand’s state-controlled energy company, is bidding to take control of Myanmar’s Yadana gas field after TotalEnergies (LSE:TTE) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) announced they will exit the country to protest against the junta’s continued violence against civilians since the military coup.
Australia’s Santos (ASX:STO) will this week start drilling Pavo-1, a highly anticipated exploration well, near its high-quality Dorado field offshore Western Australia.