HOUSTON — Royal Dutch Shell has begun producing oil from its first deepwater project off the coast of Malaysia in a move that will eventually lead to peak production of 135,000 barrels of oil per day, the company announced Wednesday.
The Gumusut-Kakap field, located about 75 miles offshore in 3,900-foot water, is sending oil to a production platform, which is then piped 125 miles away to to the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal in Kimanis, Malaysia. Production from the field will initially use 14 of 19 planned wells.
Shell, the operator on the project, holds a 33 percent interest in the project. ConocoPhillips owns another 33 percent interest, Malaysia’s national oil company Petronas Carigali owns a 20 percent interest and El Dorado, Arkansas-based Murphy Sabah Oil owns a 14 percent interest.
“The field is one of a series of substantial deep-water start-ups this year, driving returns and growth for shareholders,” said Andrew Brown, Shell’s upstream international director, in a statement.
The launch marks the fourth major deepwater start-up of 2014 for Shell, which include the launch of its Mars B and Cardamom projects in the Gulf of Mexico and its Bong North West deepwater development off the Nigerian coast.
“The startup of the Gumusut-Kakap project is an important milestone for ConocoPhillips,” Matt Fox, executive vice president of ConocoPhillips’ exploration and production, said in a statement. “It joins Siakap North-Petai as the second major Malaysian project startup in 2014 that will contribute to the company’s organic growth over the coming years.”
ConocoPhillips and Shell are currently partnered in six offshore projects in the Asian nation.
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