Shell picks Malaysian contractor to deliver solar-powered platform for gas project

Energy and marine solutions provider Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering (MMHE) has been awarded a contract to build a platform for a Shell-operated gas project offshore Malaysia.

MMHE, a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad (MHB), said on Tuesday it has secured a contract from Sarawak Shell Berhad (SSB) to undertake the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services of the offshore platform for the Rosmari-Marjoram gas project, off the coast of Sarawak. The platform will comprise a topside, a four-legged jacket, and piles.

This comes about a month after Shell made a final investment decision (FID) to develop the Rosmari-Marjoram gas project, containing deepwater sour gas fields discovered in 2014. They are situated 220 kilometres (km) off the coast of Bintulu, Sarawak, and will be powered by renewable energy, using solar power for the offshore platform.

The Rosmari-Marjoram gas project is currently undertaken by SSB (the operator of the SK318 Block) and Petronas Carigali. Upon completion, the platform will be installed in a water depth of 140 metres (m) within the SK318 area, off the coast of Bintulu, Sarawak.

This unmanned platform will be primarily powered by renewable energy where it will utilise power from solar panels. With a design life of 20 years, it will cater for up to 800 million standard cubic feet of gas per day with a start-up targeted in 2026 supplying natural gas to the Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu, Sarawak.

Pandai Othman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of MHB said, “To us, this project award is not just another achievement for our record books but in fact, it signifies our strong and lasting partnership with SSB in many years to come.

“With the announcement of Final Investment Decision by SSB for the project on Monday, 5th September 2022, followed by the award of this contract to MHB also indicates the beginning of the revitalisation of the oil and gas industry in Malaysia that has long been impeded due to the pandemic and economic slowdown causing oil and gas developers to be more cautious in its CAPEX spending for new developments.”

Shell has also recently decided to invest in Phase 4 of the Gumusut-Kakap-Geronggong-Jagus East (GKGJE) deepwater offshore development project in Malaysia, only months after the first oil from Phase 3 of the project.