Offshore staff
LONDON – Salamander Energy has received its first production-sharing contract (PSC) offshore Malaysia.
This is for block PM322 in the Melaka Straits on the Malay side of the central Sumatra basin, offshore the west coast ofPeninsular Malaysia. Salamander will operate with an 85% interest.
Only six wells have been drilled to date on the Malaysian side of the Melaka Strait. However, the 20,000-sq km (7,722-sq mi) shallow-water permit contains Sun Oil’s 1991 Port Klang oil discovery, part of the same drilling campaign that resulted in the discovery of the Salamander-operatedBualuang oil field in the B8/38 concession in the Gulf of Thailand.
Salamander has committed to acquire 3D seismic and drill one exploration well prior to December 2016.
As forBualuang, installation has been completed of a 1,200-metric ton (1,323-ton) processing module and a 550-metric ton (606-ton) power generation module onto the Bualuang Bravo platform. Hook up and commissioning now follows.
The Bravo pipeline and FSO riser will both be installed in 2Q 2014. Switching from the current FPSO to the replacement FSO, conversion of which is 60% complete, is expected to take place next summer. These facilities should cut the field’s operating costs by more than $20 million/yr.
New well and production data have led to a 40% increase in estimated reserves at Bualuang to more than 250 MMbbl. Production currently is around 12,700 b/d.
Engineering studies are under way to determine how best to exploit the additional resources identified. One longer-term option is to add at least one more platform (Charlie) in 2016 and to drill more wells. In the near term, five additional slots should be added next spring to the Bravo platform.
These measures could lift production from the current level of around 12,700 b/d to 20,000 boe/d in 2017.
12/11/2013
