Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Petroleum makes Malaysian gas discovery

Mubadala Petroleum, a unit of Abu Dhabi’s investment fund Mubadala said it found substantial gas in the Pegaga well in its operating block SK320.

Mubadala Petroleum yesterday said that it had made a “substantial” gas discovery in offshore Malaysia.

This would be the company’s fourth find in its operating block SK320 in the South China Sea.

“Together these discoveries represent a very significant hydrocarbon resource, with the potential for a commercially attractive, integrated development,” said Maurizio La Noce, the chief executive of Mubadala Petroleum. “We will be working closely with our partners, Petronas Carigali and Shell, to evaluate all the options for commercialising the resources in the block in due course.”

As the operator, Mubadala Petroleum owns a 55 per cent share in Block SK320, Petronas Carigali owns 25 per cent and the rest is held by Sarawak Shell.

The block was awarded to Mubadala in 2010.

In January, Mubadala Petroleum, a unit of Abu Dhabi's investment fund Mubadala, signed a deal with Shell to swap equity in two exploration blocks in offshore Malaysia. Shell gained its 20 per cent interest in Block SK320 under the agreement while Mubadala Petroleum received a 20 per cent interest in the Deepwater Block 2B. Shell operates Deepwater Block 2B.

To meet the growing energy demand, Mubadala Petroleum is building a gas portfolio in Africa, the Caspian region and Asia.

It is also behind the two gas-import projects – the Qatar-UAE Dolphin pipeline that is undergoing expansion and the Emirates liquefied natural gas (LNG) floating terminal in Fujairah under construction. The Emirates LNG terminal is expected to be ready in 2016.

In October, Mubadala Petroleum started gas production at its Ruby gasfield in Indonesia. The Abu Dhabi company and its partners Total E&P Sebuku and Inpex South Makassar have invested about US$500 million in the project.

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