Lundin discovers gas at block offshore Sabah

by **hlk** Fri 15 Jul 2011, 07:50

KUALA LUMPUR: Lundin Petroleum AB, a Swedish oil and gas exploration and production company, has discovered gas in the Tarap-1 well in Block SB303 offshore Sabah.

In a statement, Lundin Petroleum said the Tarap-1 was drilled in a water depth of about 70 metres.

"The well was directionally drilled to a measured depth of 2,675 metres," it said.

An extensive data acquisition programme was completed, including pressure measurements, sampling and a mini-flow test in selected zones.

The data recovered from the well will be analysed further to determine how much gas is in the area.

Lundin's president and chief executive officer Ashley Heppenstall considered the gas discovery as an encouraging start for the company's drilling campaign in Malaysia and provides strong support for Lundin Petroleum's strategy in Southeast Asia in pursuing organic growth and value creation in focused core areas.

"With a large number of prospects and leads already identified, I am confident that the company can continue to grow its resource base in this area in the coming years," he said.

Sabah currently has two gas demand centres located in Kota Kinabalu and Labuan that are supplied from existing offshore infrastructure.

Heppenstall said the addition of a third demand centre with the construction of the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal at Kimanis and the Sabah-Sarawak gas pipeline gives Lundin Petroleum a broad range of options to explore for gas in the area.

"The rig will now move to drill the Cempulut prospect, also in SB303, the second well in Lundin Petroleum's five-well drilling campaign in Malaysia in 2011," he said.

Lundin Petroleum holds a 75 per cent interest in SB303 through its subsidiary Lundin Malaysia BV. Its local partner is Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, the exploration and production arm of Petronas.

Sweden-based Lundin Petroleum has assets in Europe, Southeast Asia, Russia and Africa, with proven and probable reserves of 187 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The company is listed on Nasdaq OMX, Stockholm and Toronto Stock Exchange.