Malaysia Discovered Very Large Oil and Gas Reserves in 2023
Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas said more than 1 billion boe had been discovered in the country this year through new exploration drilling. Petronas said the new resources resulted from 19 exploration discoveries and two successful exploration and appraisal activities.
A total of 25 exploration wells were drilled, which was the highest number for the year since 2015.
More than half of the discoveries were made in the Sarawak Basin, mainly in two clusters within the geological provinces of Balingian and Western Luconia. The discoveries include Gedombak-1, Sinsing-1, Machinchan-1 and Mirdanga-1 of PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd (PETRONAS Carigali), and Babadon-1 and Chenda-1 of Thai PTTEP.
Three discoveries were made in the northwestern part of the Sabah Basin. PETRONAS Carigali’s Layang-Layang-1 and PTTEP’s Hikmat-1 and Dermawan-1 have opened up new capabilities in ultra-deepwater and deep-sea environments. The drilling campaign continues in the same proven shallow water basin off Sabah.
Two other discoveries were made in the Malayan Basin. Hibiscus Oil & Gas Malaysia discovered gas in the Bunga Lavatera-1 well near the PM3 node and brought it on production at around 50 million cubic feet per day that same year. PTTEP discovered oil and gas at Simpoh Beludu 1 by penetrating a hydrocarbon-filled reservoir in the deeper K Group sands.
PETRONAS, through MPM, issues petroleum licenses, administers petroleum agreements and provides control over petroleum exploration and production in Malaysia.
