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Mubadala to develop oil concession in Thailand

Mubadala Petroleum has approved the development of the Manora concession in the Gulf of Thailand.

The initial development phase will consist of 10 production wells and five water injection wells targeting the primary reservoir.

The development is planned to commence production in early 2014 and peak levels are expected to reach approximately 15,000 barrels of oil per day within few months after the project begins production.

The Manora development is anticipated to require capital investment of $246 million, excluding an abandonment provision, and field life is projected at around 11 years.

“Proved and probable reserves contained in Manora’s primary reservoir, and recoverable by natural depletion, are estimated to be 20.2 million barrels. Water injection will be implemented from start-up and once its effectiveness has been confirmed by enhanced production performance, it is expected that a further 8.3 million barrels, currently categorised as contingent resources, will be added to the reserves base,” according to a statement by the company.

Through its Pearl Oil affiliates, Mubadala Petroleum holds a 60 per cent interest in the G1/48 concession and is operator. Thirty per cent interest is held by Tap Energy (Thailand) Pty Ltd while the remaining is owned by Northern Gulf Petroleum Pte Ltd.

“Exploitation of Manora’s potential secondary reservoirs will occur in subsequent years,” the statement said. The Manora field was discovered in 2009, and is located in the northern Gulf of Thailand approximately 80 kilometres offshore in a water depth of 44 meters. Following a successful appraisal programme, conducted in 2010, the development concept was selected in late 2011 and consists of a central processing platform producing into a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel.

Maurizio La Noce, chief executive officer of Mubadala Petroleum, said the development of Manora marks an important new chapter for the company.

“We have developed a strong technical understanding of the subsurface in this province based on our experience operating the highly successful Jasmine project. This has been further enhanced by the very active exploration and appraisal programme that yielded Manora and a number of other material discoveries we plan to develop in the near future,” he said.

Contract awards for the platform construction and installation, and the supply of a dedicated FSO unit, are currently being finalised.

Mubadala Petroleum is an international, upstream oil and gas exploration and production company established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company in June 2012, incorporating and building on the success of Mubadala’s existing investments in the sector.

Mubadala manages hydrocarbon assets and operations spanning 12 countries with a primary geographic focus on the Middle East, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia. Its current working interest production is approximately 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Mubadala is one of the largest petroleum concessionaires in Thailand where it operate 12 concessions including the very successful Jasmine B5/27 offshore development. — haseeb@khaleejtimes.com