Murphy finds oil with deepwater Kikeh Kecil discovery well off Malaysia

Murphy Oil Corp. reported a significant oil discovery with the company's Kikeh Kecil No. 1 well, drilled on Block K off Sabah, Malaysia. Drilled in 4,460 ft of water, the well is 2.5 miles north of Kikeh field on a separate structural feature, the company said.

Aug. 28, 2003

2 min read

By OGJ editors

HOUSTON, Aug. 28 -- Murphy Oil Corp. reported a significant oil discovery with the company's Kikeh Kecil No. 1 well, drilled on Block K off Sabah, Malaysia. Drilled in 4,460 ft of water, the well is 2.5 miles north of Kikeh field on a separate structural feature, the company said.

Murphy, which serves as operator of Block K with 80% working interest, said the well "found the same reservoirs as in Kikeh field with no water levels." Immediate plans call for the discovery well's rig to be moved to Kikeh field to conduct a flow test on a previously drilled well, the company said. "Later this year we will come back to Kikeh Kecil to appraise this discovery," Murphy said. "We are moving forward with development plans for the Kikeh field and will look to bring this new discovery into the mix."

Block K, which covers more than 4 million acres, is held 20% by Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd., a wholly owned exploration and production arm of Malaysia state oil firm Petronas.

Separately, Murphy reported two recent unsuccessful wells: Dengkis on Block H, which lies off Sabah, Malaysia, and Stonemaker, on Mississippi Canyon Block 493 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Murphy holds 80% working interest in Block H and 85% in MC Block 493.

Dengkis was drilled to 9,843 ft TD and "encountered noncommercial hydrocarbons," while Stonemaker was drilled to 14,700 ft TD and "was temporarily abandoned," the company said.