Offshore staff
BANGKOK, Thailand – PTTEP’s Malaysian subsidiary has discovered a large gas field with its first well on the SK410B block offshore Sarawak.
The Lang Lebah-1RDR2 was targeting non-associated gas in a Middle Miocene cycle IV/V carbonate reservoir.
It reached a TD of 3,810 m (12,500 ft), having encountered 252 m (827 ft) of net gas pay. The well was tested the in carbonate main target reservoir with a completion-constrained (2-7/8-in. tubing) rate of 41.3 MMcf/d and 246 b/d of condensate through a 40/64-in. choke.
PTTEP believes this is its largest ever discovery, ahead of the 280-MMboe Zawtika field offshore Myanmar, but further drilling will be needed to confirm upside potential. SK410B is in shallow waters 90 km (56 mi) offshore Sarawak. Partners are Kufpec and Petronas.
Wood Mackenzie senior analyst Huong Tra Ho said: “We estimate an indicative size of 2 tcf, making this the seventh largest global discovery of the year.
“It is in the deeper, 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. 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.”
Commercialization potential looks strong in this case, however, as feed gas into the Malaysia LNG (MLNG) complex which urgently needs fresh gas supplies as existing sources have only met 85% of its requirements in 2018.
“Legacy fields have experienced sand influx and water breakthroughs,” the analyst said, “while many of the remaining undeveloped discoveries require advanced carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide processing. Gas quality will thus be crucial to determining the speed and ease of future monetization 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…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.”
06/28/2019
