Petronas awards exploration block off Sabah to Shell consortium

Malaysian state company Petronas has awarded Block SB 303 off Sabah to a consortium led by Sabah Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd. Parts of the block have been explored by other operators, and 15 wells have been drilled in the area. Tiga Papan oil field and Titik Terang gas field are in Block SB 303.

July 2, 2001

By the OGJ Online Staff

HOUSTON, July 2 -- Malaysian state company Petronas has awarded Block SB 303 off Sabah to a consortium led by Sabah Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd.

The 8,170-sq-km block is 100 km off Kota Kinabalu in 75 m of water. Parts of the block have been explored by other operators, and 15 wells have been drilled in the area. Tiga Papan oil field and Titik Terang gas field are in Block SB 303.

Petronas said about 30 small to medium-sized reserves of between 10 million-50 million bbl of oil have been identified.

Under the production-sharing contract, the partners will drill two wildcats to at least 2,600 m; acquire and process 600 sq km of 3D seismic data; reprocess 1,000 line-km of old seismic data; and undertake an integrated subsurface study of Tiga Papan field. They may also drill an optional appraisal and development well in Tiga Papan oil field. They will spend at least 28 million ringgit ($7.4 million).

Sabah Shell will operate the block with 50%; Shell Sabah Selatan Sdn. Bhd. will own 10%; and Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd., the E&P arm of Petronas, will own 40%.