Shell Launches Next Phase of Malaysia's Deepwater Project with First Oil Production

Sabah Shell Petroleum Company (SSPC), a subsidiary of Shell, has produced first oil from Phase 4 of the Gumusut-Kakap-Geronggong-Jagus East (GKGJE) deepwater development off Malaysia.

The Phase 4 production is flowing to the existing Gumusut-Kakap Semi-submersible Floating Production System (GK-Semi FPS) located off the coast of Sabah, offshore Malaysia where SSPC is the operator.

The GKGJE Phase 4 development includes a subsea tie-back that straddles the Malaysia - Brunei border and involves the drilling of three producer wells and one water injection well.

Located in water depths of 1,200 meters, Gumusut-Kakap was the first deepwater project for Shell in Malaysia and began production in 2014.

“This achievement reaffirms Shell’s ongoing commitment in innovating and executing safe, reliable, and sustainable projects that meets today’s energy needs. I would like to thank Malaysia Petroleum Management PETRONAS, Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam, National Unitisation Secretariat, our government in Malaysia and our partners for their unwavering support in achieving this significant milestone,” said Siti Sulaiman, Country Chair of Shell Malaysia and Senior Vice President for Integrated Gas & Upstream Malaysia.

GKGJE Phase 4 contributes towards Shell’s global commitment to bring onstream new upstream projects between 2023 and 2025, that will together deliver an additional 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) at peak production.

SSPC operates two deepwater oil-producing assets in Sabah - Gumusut-Kakap and Malikai and they were commissioned in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

Gumusut-Kakap’s Phase 4 final investment decision was taken in October 2022, the it is expected to produce approximately 21,000 boe/d on average.

The Gumusut-Kakap phase 3 development achieved first oil in July 2022, while the pahse 2 of the project incorporated four additional subsea tie-back wells to GK-Semi FPS and was completed in 2019. It achieved first oil in August 2019.

In March 2021, Brunei Darussalam as represented by the National Unitisation Secretariat, and PETRONAS signed a unitisation agreement to set out the terms of the unitisation of the GKGJE fields’ oil and gas discoveries in Malaysia-Brunei. SSPC was appointed as the unit operator of the GKGJE unit area.

The GKGJE project is a joint venture among SSPC and Shell Sabah Selatan, ConocoPhillips Sabah, PETRONAS Carigali, PTTEP Sabah Oil Limited, PT PERTAMINA Malaysia Eksplorasi Produksi, Shell Exploration and Production Brunei, Canam Brunei Oil Ltd, PETRONAS Carigali Brunei Limited and Brunei Shell Petroleum.

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