Thailand’s national upstream company PTTEP has made a high quality sweet gas discovery offshore Sarawak, East Malaysia that the nation’s host Petronas said revives the Baram shallow clastics play.

The shallow-water Dokong-1 wildcat on the Block SK 417 production sharing contract discovered a gas column of more than 80 metres in the Middle to Late Miocene Cycle VI-VII reservoirs, said to further validate the potential of the remaining prospects in Baram Province.

“This drilling result paves the way for exploration of nearby prospects that have similar geological structures. It also presents opportunity for PTTEP to synergize future development and production of SK 417 with the adjacent areas and leverage on our strong expertise in cluster development,” PTTEP chief executive Phongsthorn Thavisin said on Wednesday.

A second well will be drilled on this block in mid-2021 as part of the operator’s exploration campaign offshore Malaysia.

“This finding of contaminant-free gas in Dokong-1 not only revives Baram shallow clastics play but also proves the presence of more sweet gas opportunities within the area,” noted Petronas.

Further work is already under way to help determine the size of the discovery.

The successful probe was spudded last November targeting gas in the sandstone reservoir and reached a total depth of 3810 metres in mid-January.

Dokong is located approximately 90 kilometres offshore Sarawak.

“The Dokong-1 exploration well is one of several recent successes in Malaysia’s exploration activities. Monetisation of sweet gas discovery in Baram Province can be supported through existing infrastructure and will contribute towards Petronas’ aspiration in delivering reliable, stable and cleaner energy supply to domestic and global markets,” said Petronas senior vice president of Malaysia Petroleum Management Mohamed Firouz Asnan.

“In addition, the Dokong-1 discovery reinvigorates the entire exploration landscape of the Baram Province, strengthening the role of Baram gas supply network as part of the larger Sarawak gas system. Petronas, together with the PSC parties, are currently undertaking further evaluation to determine the full extent of the discovery,” he said.'

PTTEP operates Block SK 417 with an 80% interest and its sole partner is Malaysian counterpart Petronas Carigali with 20%. The PSC was signed in March 2018 after it was offered in the previous year’s Malaysia Bid Round (MBR).

“The finding of potential high-quality gas at Dokong-1 exploration well is PTTEP’s latest achievement in Malaysia following first gas production from Block H and a major gas discovery at SK410B’s Lang Lebah field,” added Phongsthorn.

Petronas will be offering four shallow-water blocks offshore Sarawak as part of the MBR 2021, which is being officially launched this Friday.

Exploration

PTTEP makes sweet gas discovery offshore Malaysia