Total is primed to explore the deep waters off Sarawak after Malaysian state-run company Petronas awarded Block SK317B to the French giant.
Under the terms of the production sharing contract, Total will operate the deep-water Block with an 85% stake, while Petronas Carigali will hold the remaining 15% interest.
Total is committed to drilling one exploration well, shoot 400 square kilometres of new 3D seismic data and reprocess 500 line kilometres of existing 2D seismic data.
Petronas said the minimum financial commitment is valued at $31 million.
Block SK317B lies in the eastern part of the Sarawak basin in water depths of between 200 and 1000 metres.
Previous exploration efforts were confined to the southern sections of the original Block SK317 and led to the discovery of the Layang gas field. The deeper water area remains mostly under-explored due to the different operational requirements that come with deep-water conditions, said Petronas.