By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Feb. 6 -- ExxonMobil Corp. has brought on stream Larut field, on Block PM5 about 125 miles off Terengganu, Malaysia.
At peak, Larut is expected to produce more than 30,000 b/d of oil and 35 MMcfd. The field is the first developed on the block. ExxonMobil operates the field with 50% and Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd., an affiliate of Malaysian state company Petronas, holds the rest.
Larut has an eight-legged steel jacket platform with a 36-well capacity. Oil and gas will flow into the existing Tapis oil and gas system via 125 miles of new pipelines.
In combination with the development of ExxonMobil's nearby six satellite fields development project and the Angsi facilities, peak production is expected to be almost 140,000 b/d and 535 MMcfd. Output from the three developments is expected to be more than 320 million bbl of oil and 1.5 tcf of gas over the next 25 years.
The $240 million satellite fields development project began production from Seligi H, the first of five platforms, in December (OGJ Online, Dec. 10, 2001). Seligi H is 50 miles off Terengganu in the South China Sea. The other platforms are Raya B, Lawang A, Serudon A, and Irong Barat B. ExxonMobil operates the project with working interest of 78-80%. Petronas Carigali has the rest.
Also in the South China Sea, Angsi began production of 15,000 b/d of oil and 60 MMscfd of gas in December (OGJ Online, Dec. 26, 2001). At peak, Angsi should produce 65,000 b/d of oil and 450 MMscfd of gas. ExxonMobil and operator Petronas Carigali each hold half of Angsi.
The three projects cost an estimated $1.7 billion combined, said ExxonMobil.
Both Larut and the SFD project were considered economically marginal until ExxonMobil developed new designs and development plans that saved money, said Terry Koonce, president of ExxonMobil Production Co.
"ExxonMobil and (Petronas), Malaysia's national oil company, have worked together to hold oil production levels steady by maximizing the output from existing fields and finding economic ways to develop the smaller, more technically challenging fields," said Koonce.