ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) has announced the commencement of operations in Malaysia’s Telok natural gas field. The field is located just offshore Malaysia, in the South China Sea.
The Telok gas field venture is a 50-50 joint operation between ExxonMobil, which will remain the operator, and Malaysia’s Petronas.
From 4-traders:
“The Telok development will help meet increasing demand for natural gas in Peninsular Malaysia,” said Neil W. Duffin, president of ExxonMobil Development Company. “It is one of many natural gas developments ExxonMobil will bring on stream in the next few years around the world.”
The Telok-A platform is expected to be the first phase of the entire project. Once complete, the project will feature two four-legged, unmanned gas satellite platforms, as 4-traders reports. A 16-mile pipeline connecting to the existing Guntong E platform will carry full well stream gas, and the Telok-A and –B platforms together will feature 14 development wells.
The project is part of Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme, which began in 2011. Both ExxonMobil and Petronas will be investing in excess of RM10 billion ($3.2 billion) into the development of new oil and gas assets, reports the Malaysian Insider.
According to ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc. Chairman J. Hunter Farris, ExxonMobil’s prior satellite field projects and a developmental concept of “design one, build many” allowed this particular project to be built with no major issues.
Malaysia’s increasing demand for natural gas has meant that foreign companies have taken a big interest in developing and exploiting the region’s reserves. ExxonMobil has taken a lead in these efforts.
RigZone quotes J. Hunter Farris:
“The Telok project is another successful example of collaboration between ExxonMobil and PCSB in meeting Malaysia’s growing energy needs for the power and industrial sector. ExxonMobil is committed to ensuring reliable gas supplies to the nation and to using international best practices to enhance our operations in Malaysia.”
The CIA Factbook indicates that Malaysia may have as much as 2.35 trillion cubic meters of proven reserves of natural gas. In 2010, it imported 2.94 billion cubic meters of natural gas and exported about 31.99 billion cubic meters. Total production amounts to about 66.5 billion cubic meters, while consumption is at 35.7 billion cubic meters.
Currently, Malaysia is the third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the world, coming after Qatar and Indonesia, UPI.com reports. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has indicated that as of 2010, Malaysia was consuming 1.1 trillion cubic feet per year, or about 42 percent of total production, with national oil reserves displaying similar production/consumption patterns.
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