Malaysia, Brunei formalise unitisation agreement for two offshore fields

Malaysia, through its national oil company Petronas, has formalised a unitisation agreement (UA) with the Government of Brunei Darussalam for the Gumusut-Kakap and Geronggong/Jagus East fields.

The Gumusut-Kakap and Geronggong/Jagus East fields straddle the Malaysian-Brunei maritime boundary. 

Petronas said that the formalised UA attests the continuing collaboration between Malaysia and Brunei and establishes the platform for the joint development of the fields by Petronas and the National Unitisation Secretariat (NUS) of Brunei to further enhance the value derived from these assets for both countries.  

The formalisation took place during the 23rd Malaysia-Brunei Annual Leaders’ Consultation at the capital of Brunei – Bandar Seri Begawan. The UA signing was attended by the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah and the Prime Minister of Malaysia Muhyiddin Yassin. 

Also present were Petronas president and Group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Kamadjaja Aziz, Petronas EVP and CEO of upstream Adif Zulkifli, and Petronas SVP of Malaysia petroleum management Mohamed Firouz Asnan. Brunei Darussalam was represented by its Acting Minister of Energy Yang Mulia Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Matsatejo bin Sokiaw.  

Muhammad Taufik said: “Today’s signing is indeed a testament to the synergy between Petronas and the Ministry of Energy of Brunei and embodies yet another step towards strengthening our long-standing relationship for greater shared success.

“Having now formalised this landmark agreement, Petronas believes that both parties can look forward to continuing the strong momentum towards developing our nations’ energy sectors for the long-term growth and prosperity of both Brunei and Malaysia”.

As for the fields, the Gumusut-Kakap project includes the joint development of two ultra-deepwater discoveries, Gumusut and Kakap. The fields are located within blocks J and K, about 120 kilometres offshore Sabah, Malaysia. The first production from the project was achieved in October 2014.

Gumusut-Kakap comprises 19 subsea wells, tied back to a floating production system (FPS). The FPS weighs more than 40,000 tonnes and has a processing capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil each day. It was installed in about 1,200 metres of water.

The Geronggong/Jagus East field could contain several hundred million barrels of oil in place. The field is situated in the 3rd Offshore Acreage Area, some 100 kilometres from the coast of Brunei. The field is considered the country’s first deepwater development as the producing well was drilled in water depths of almost 1,000 metres.

In recent company news, Petronas declared force majeure on its Yetagun field offshore Myanmar due to a significant decline in output.