Lundin scores hat-trick with Sabah gas find

Sweden’s Lundin Petroleum has made a third gas find at its block off Sabah, Malaysia, with the Berangan-1 well.

Drilled to a depth of 1709 metres in around 70 metres water depth by the West Courageous rig, the well penetrated a gross gas column of more than 165 metres in the target mid-Miocene aged sands.

The find was made 10 kilometres southeast of the Tarap discovery and 15 kilometres south of the Cempulut discovery, all in the SB303 block where Lundin holds a 75% stake with partner Petronas on 25%.

Chief executive Ashley Heppenstall said Lundin's trio of finds at SB303 - together with the Titik Terang find previously uncovered by Shell at the block but never developed - represented “a clear opportunity to evaluate the potential for a gas cluster development”.

The Swedish independent said that further tests would determine resource estimates, but that data acquired already pointed to a single continuous gas column at Berangan-1.

The rig will next move to offshore Peninsula Malaysia for a three-well campaign, starting with Merawan Batu-1 in the PM308B block.

Earlier this summer, the explorer tasted dust with another probe off Malaysia, Tiga Papan 5, at blocks SB307 and SB308.

Lundin Petroleum is a Swedish independent with assets primarily located in Europe and South East Asia, including six blocks off Malaysia. The company is listed on the NASDAQ OMX and in Stockholm and Toronto.