TotalEnergies EP Malaysia will serve as operator in a newly  signed production sharing contract with PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd, Sabah Shell  Petroleum Co. Ltd., and Shell Sabah Selatan Sdn Bhd for ultra-deepwater Block  2K off the coast of Sabah. 
The 1,952-sq km block lies in 3,000 m of water in the northwest  ultra-deepwater area within a proven hydrocarbon basin with promising  hydrocarbon potential, PETRONAS said in a release Oct. 13.
3D seismic data from a multi-client survey is available for the  block and will accelerate exploration drilling programs, PETRONAS said.
The signing “completes the licensing  of the five ultra-deepwater blocks off the coast of Sabah, along the newly  identified Oligo-Miocene carbonate trend proven by Tepat-1 oil discovery in  Block N in 2018,” said Mohamed Firouz Asnan, senior  vice-president Malaysia Petroleum Management, PETRONAS. Block 2V was signed in 2021, followed by Blocks 2W and X  early this year (OGJ  Online, Mar. 24, 2022).
A total of four wells are expected to be drilled in  the blocks in 2022 and 2023, he continued.