Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell is progressing with the second phase of its deep-water Gumusut-Kakap development off Sabah, East Malaysia, writes Amanda Battersby.

The new phase will be an all-subsea project and Shell has mobilised Seadrill’s drillship West Capella from the location of its Gemilang-1 exploration well to Gumusut-Kakap, where the unit is to drill four wells.

Meanwhile, Fugro’s multi-purpose vessel Atlantis Dweller is understood to be en route to the field, which lies in a water depth of up to 1200 metres.

The Bahamas-registered vessel is expected to arrive on location around 1 February where it will initially install subsea trees at at least two of the wells in a campaign expected to take around two months.

UK contractor TechnipFMC last March won an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract for Gumusut-Kakap phase two.

The workscope involves the supply and installation of equipment including the subsea production system, umbilicals and flowlines.

Peak production via the already installed semi-submersible floating production unit was pegged at 148,000 barrels per day. However, Upstream reported on 29 March 2018 that phase two could add a further 50,000 bpd to peak output.

Shell earlier said that at its peak Gumusut-Kakap would account for 25% of Malaysia’s total oil production.

Produced oil from Gumusut-Kakap is transported to the Sabah Oil & Gas Terminal onshore at Kimanis via a 200-kilometre pipeline.

Results of the recently completed Gemilang-1 wildcat are not yet known but one source referred to the Gemilang prospect as Gumusut East, suggesting a discovery could be exploited using the Gumusut-Kakap infrastructure.

Partners in Gumusut-Kakap are operator Shell, ConocoPhillips, Petronas Carigali and Murphy Oil, although Murphy is said to be in talks to sell its Malaysian assets to Repsol.