Petronas said it made “major” oil and gas discoveries that may help replenish the Southeast Asian nation’s diminishing reserves.
Early estimates showed a total 2.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 100mil barrels of crude at two wells off the coast of Sarawak, it said in a statement yesterday.
“These discoveries are expected to further enhance exploration potential offshore Sarawak. In the next three years, over 50 exploration wells are expected to be drilled offshore Malaysia by Petronas and its production-sharing contractors,” it added.
The nation’s crude and natural gas production has fallen for two straight years, declining to the equivalent of 1.63mil barrels of oil a day in the year ended March 31 from 1.66mil a day a year earlier, according to Petronas’ 2010 annual report.
The country has responded by offering companies incentives to explore deeper and less-profitable fields in a bid to increase reserves as energy demand rises.
