Project Profile
Location: SB-1 block 34 miles off the coast of Labuan , Sabah, east Malaysia
Reserves: 500 mmboe
Production: 36,000 bpd and 28 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d) of gas
Water Depth: 55 m
Discovery Year: 1989
Start-up Year: 25th December 1997
Kinabalu has Main, East, and Deep accumulations with combined original oil in place of about 500 million bbl. The field, operated remotely from Shell\'s Labuan crude oil terminal on Labuan Island 55 km away, is Malaysia\'s first unmanned development.
Production at Kinabalu, located in the SB-1 block 34 miles off the coast of Labuan, Sabah in east Malaysia, began in December 1997. As operator of the SB-1 block, Shell initially had an 80% stake in the block, with Petronas holding a 20% stake. Production averaged 33,300 bpd in 1998. It was flowing about 31,000 bpd of 34° gravity oil from Miocene at about 9,000 ft subsea in late 1999, when a jack-up arrived to drill two new wells and work over one well. Oil is shipped from the field on Block SB-1 near the Brunei border by pipeline to Samarang field for commingling and processing with Samarang crude. Sabah Shell relinquished Samarang field to Petronas Carigali in early 1995.
Kinabalu oil and gas production rates are constrained by available capacity at Samarang. Peak facilities design capacities are 60,000 bo/d and 42 MMscfd of gas. In 2000, Sabah Shell Petroleum Company raised production at the Kinabalu field to 36,000 bbl/d, as well as 28 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d) of gas.
In May 2012, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), was formally awarded a new production sharing contract (PSC) for the continuing production, further development and improved recovery of crude oil from the Kinabalu oil fields. The Kinabalu Oil Fields have a number of producing mature fields, with significant development upside. This new PSC is the first of a new \"progressive volume-based\" (PVB) PSC to be awarded by PETRONAS. The PVB PSC was specifically designed to incentivize contractors to improve oil recovery and increase production from mature oil fields.
Talisman and PETRONAS Carigali plan to invest over US$1 billion to increase oil recovery and production over the life of the PSC. This will add to the list of fields in Malaysia where improved oil recovery techniques are being used to increase both production and reserves.
Operators:
Repsol Sinopec Resources (acquisition of Talisman in May 2015): Operator with 60% interest
Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas): 40% interest
Contractor:
TH Heavy Engineering (THHE): Procurement, construction and commissioning contract