Project Profile
Value: Undisclosed
Location: 160 miles northeast of Terengganu, Malaysia near Vietnam and Indonesia, permit PMP 323, offshore Malaysia
Reserves: 20 to 25 MMbbl (East Belumut) and 4 MMbbl (West Belumut)
Capacity: 50,000 bopd (East Belumut A)
Area: unknown
Depth: 240 feet of water
Start-up Year: June 2008 (East Belumut) and 2011 or 2012 (West Belumut)
East Belumut field is located 160 miles northeast of Terengganu in permit PMP 323 acreage offshore Malaysia, near Vietnam and Indonesia. East Belumut\'s primary oil reservoir is a Tertiary-aged, areally extensive, highly porous and permeable oil reservoir. East Belumut is considered a marginal field development due to the initial low reserves. East Belumut is a particularly challenging development due to the thin 46-feet oil column, the low-gravity (23°API) high-viscosity (3cP) oil, and the productive interval being entirely within the oil-water transition zone. Furthermore, the field has a large but low relief structure, a shallow poorly consolidated sandstone reservoir and the thin oil column is sandwiched between an underlying bottom aquifer and a gas cap.
East Belumut was discovered by an International Oil Company (IOC) in 1970 with an additional three appraisal wells drilled in the 1990’s. The IOC deemed the field to be non - commercial due to a thin oil column and a viscous crude oil resulting in a low recovery factor (< 10%). They relinquished their acreage to the NOC who also considered the field too difficult to develop. In June 2005 Newfield (now SKE) signed up to develop the Field with an aggressive development and exploration bid that won the PM323 Block. For SKE, East Belumut was an opportunity to apply modern horizontal drilling, innovative completion technology and state of the art geological modelling and reservoir simulation to significantly increase the oil recovery from the field. Initially the IOC/NOC expected the East Belumut Field to recover < 10% of its oil in place and produce around 20 MMBO. However, SKE has more than tripled the recover to > 65 MMBO. This has been achieved through application of cutting edge technology, innovation and phased learning. Serving as operator of the permit is SapuraKencana Energy (SKE), owning a 60% interest; Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd owns 40%.
East Belumut
During exploratory campaigns in the late 1970s and 1990s, Exxon discovered East Belumut, but the field wasn\'t developed. In 2005, Newfield Exploration signed a Production Sharing Contract on PM323 in mid-2005 and began developing the small marginal field. Once the contract was signed, the operator moved forward with development through two phases. In the first phase, the company brought one oil producer and one gas injector online and connected them to a Central Processing Platform, East Belumut A. Phase two consisted of increasing production capacity by drilling five additional wells, and boosting gas injection capability for reservoir maintenance. Around 2010, the operator plans to drill 15 additional producers in the field. The East Belumut A is a drilling/process/accommodations platform with a production capacity of 50,000 bopd. The platform is a four-pile design with a skirt pile support jacket structure that supports an integrated deck with processing, compression and utility capabilities. Estimated to hold 20 to 25 MMbbl, East Belumut commenced production on June 30, 2008. East Belumut is in 240 feet of water. The field is producing approximately 20,000 barrels of oil per day gross. Crude is exported via a 10” pipeline to the Tinggi - A Platform
West Belumut
Field development of West Belumut will consist of drilling two development wells and connecting them to a wellhead platform tied-back to East Belumut A platform. Holding an estimated 4 MMbbl, West Belumut came online in 2011 or 2012.
Operators:
SapuraKencana Energy (SKE): Operator with 80% interest
Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd: 20% interest
Contractors:
MMC Oil & Gas Engineering: Provision of Engineering Design for Equipment and System Enhancement for East Belumut - A Platform. Provision of Engineering Services for Topside Modifications. Provision for Front End Engineering Design Services
TH Heavy Engineering Bhd: East Belumut A CPP TOPSIDE
Seaway Heavy Lifting: Installation of East Belumut-A Deck and LQ module