By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 30: United States oil major ConocoPhillips has confirmed it will not proceed with development of the RM13.7 billion Salam-Patawali deepwater oil and gas project (also known as WL4-00), located off the southern coast of Sarawak.
In a brief statement issued today, the company clarified that the decision was “based solely on prioritisation within the company’s global portfolio” and not due to external factors.
“ConocoPhillips has elected not to progress development of the WL4-00 project based solely on prioritisation within the company’s global portfolio,” it stated.
The statement follows media reports on Tuesday (April 29), including by Channel News Asia (CNA), citing industry sources and energy news outlet Upstream Online, that the company had exited the high-profile project.
The development was part of a 50-50 joint venture with Malaysia’s national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS).
The Salam-Patawali block spans approximately 300,000 net acres in the Salam and Benum fields.
Although a 3D seismic survey was completed in 2023, evaluation and development activities have since halted.
ConocoPhillips is now expected to focus its upstream operations in neighbouring Sabah, where it already holds exploration and production interest.
According to its April 2024 fact sheet, ConocoPhillips holds interests in approximately 2.7 million net acres across Malaysia, all in partnership with PETRONAS. — DayakDaily
