Sabah Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd. has advanced development at Malikai with completion of a top-hole batch drilling campaign with riserless mud recovery (RMR) performed by Enhanced Drilling for five wells in phase two of the project, 100 km off the west coast of Sabah, Malaysia, in about 500 m of water, the service provider said Mar. 10.
RMR is a dual gradient top-hole drilling technology that allows drilling of the riserless section with full volume control and returns of the drilling fluid back to the rig. For Malikai Phase 2 drilling, the system reduced the amount of casing strings and enabled volume control and good hole cleaning in the 17 ½-in. section.
Malikai comprises two main reservoirs, Kinarut and Kamunsu-2, with 60,000 b/d peak annual production. The project involves the drilling of additional oil producing wells and water injection wells to enhance Malikai’s expected recoverable oil volumes and is expected to contribute to Malikai’s production in second-quarter 2021 (OGJ Online, Jan. 13, 2020).
Shell is operator (35%) with partners ConocoPhillips (35%) and Petronas Carigali (30%).
