The full start-up of Malaysia's 135,000 barrels per day (bpd) Gumusut-Kakap deepsea oilfield has been delayed to the second half of 2013 from 2012, an official at Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) said yesterday.
Construction of the floating production facility for the field has taken longer than expected, said Datuk Wee Yiaw Hin, executive vice-president for exploration and production at Petronas. "There has been some delay because we want to get fabrication complete so that when we roll out we are not faced with a lot of offshore work," Wee told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event.
"Therefore I think 2013 instead of 2012 ... sometime in the third or fourth quarters."
The company aims for 25,000 to 30,000 bpd early production from the field in the fourth quarter 2012 through linking some wells already drilled to another platform, Wee said.
Royal Dutch Shell operates the project and holds a 33 per cent stake. ConocoPhillips has a 33 per cent stake, Petronas holds 20 per cent and Murphy Oil 14 per cent. Reuters
