Petronas awards onshore block to NOEX & Petronas Carigali

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 (Bernama) -- Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) today awarded a production sharing contract to Nippon Oil Exploration Ltd (NOEX) and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for onshore Block SK333 in Sarawak.According to Petronas, the award of the contract signalled the possible revival of active onshore explorations in Malaysia, as part of its continuous efforts to enhance and augment the country's hydrocarbon reserves.Covering an area of 3,100 square kilometres, Block SK333 is located in the Baram area, the site of thriving exploration activities in the early 1900s, Petronas said in a statement.The national oil corporation said under the contract, NOEX with 75 percent interest will the operator of the block while Petronas Carigali, the exploration and production arm of Petronas, owns the remaining 25 percent.The minimum financial commitment to the block is US$40 million (US1.00=RM3.30), according to Petronas."The partners will acquire and process 500 line kilometres of 2D (two-dimensional) seismic data and drill two wildcat wells with an aggregate depth of 4,000 metres," it said."An airborne gravity and magnetic survey over the block will also be conducted," it added.Signing of the contract was held here today with Petronas represented by its vice president of exploration and production business Ramlan Abdul Malek, NOEX by its president and chief executive officer Teruo Omori and Petronas Carigali by its managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Abdullah Karim.