Malaysia’s state energy firm, Petronas, has announced an oil and gas tender for five exploration blocks located in the offshore Malay and Penyu Basins, as well as the Sandakan Basin, according to a company statement.
Petronas described these basins as “diverse geological plays with significant resource potential.” The company also highlighted the availability of three discovered resource opportunity (DRO) clusters in shallow waters, close to existing infrastructure and a potential gas market, which could enable quicker monetization.
The company also shared an update on its 2024 bidding round, revealing that 14 production-sharing agreements (PSAs) had been signed with 12 operators.
Petronas reported an average daily production of 1.7 million barrels of oil equivalent and aims to increase this to 2 million barrels per day within the next three years. This boost in production is expected to stem from major development projects such as Kasawari, the Gumusut-Kakap Redevelopment, Bekok Oil Redevelopment, Tabu Redevelopment, and Seligi Redevelopment.
The company plans to drill 69 development wells this year, an increase from 56 wells drilled in 2024. Additionally, Petronas intends to complete 15 exploration wells this year, with another 15 scheduled for 2026, across both shallow and deep waters.
In related news, Petronas’ CEO recently announced plans to cut thousands of jobs, a decision he called necessary for the company’s long-term survival. He clarified that the move was not due to financial difficulties, but because the company’s administrative workforce had become too large.
CEO Muhammad Tufik explained that the development of new oil and gas projects would become more challenging due to geological obstacles. These challenges are expected to impact Petronas’ revenue from PSAs. The company will likely have to offer larger revenue shares to its partners to encourage participation and share some of the risk. Currently, Petronas retains over 20% of the revenue under PSAs, but this share is expected to decrease to the lower double digits in the future.
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