Petronas makes new gas discovery in Central Luconia, 200km off Bintulu coast

An offshore natural gas rig. — DayakDaily.com file pic. // Photo: Pixabay

KUCHING, Sept 20: Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) has made a new gas discovery from its Cengkih-1 exploration well in Block SK 320 in Central Luconia, about 220km off the coast of Bintulu.

Announcing this in a statement today, Petronas said the Cengkih-1 exploration well was successfully drilled to a total depth of 1,680 metres in August 2022, hitting more than 110 metres gas column in Miocene Cycle IV/V pinnacle carbonate reservoirs, firming up more gas resources within Block SK320.

Mubadala Development Company Oil and Gas Limited (Mubadala Petroleum) operates the block with a 55 per cent participating interest in the Production Sharing Contract (PSC).


Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd holds a 25 per cent interest while Sarawak Shell Berhad holds the remaining 20 per cent.

Petronas senior vice president of Malaysia Petroleum Management Mohamed Firouz Asnan pointed out that the discovery confirmed the large potential of this proven carbonate play type in Central Luconia.

“We are thrilled by this latest discovery in Cengkih-1, building on the string of exploration successes in the Central Luconia region.

“The monetisation of this discovery can be expedited with a lower cost given the proximity to the many existing facilities, including that of Pegaga which started production in March this year,” he said.

This latest success, he added, was enabled by the close partnership between Petronas and its petroleum arrangement contractors in expanding the resource base to meet the rising demand for gas in Sarawak, including the Petronas LNG complex in Bintulu.

Petronas, through MPM, manages petroleum arrangements in Malaysia and provides stewardship on upstream petroleum activities. — DayakDaily