EAST CENDOR FIELD ACHIEVES FIRST OIL PRODUCTION

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 -- Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) announced that the East Cendor field in Block PM304 located 140 kilometres (km) offshore Peninsular Malaysia, has achieved its first oil production on June 23, 2021.

East Cendor field was developed by Petrofac (Malaysia) Limited, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Petronas under the Block PM304 Production Sharing Contract.

In a statement today, Petronas senior vice-president of Malaysia Petroleum Management Mohamed Firouz Asnan said East Cendor’s first oil success proved that the Malay Basin is by no means a mature hydrocarbon province.

He said Block PM304 started as a small field development and the first production from the Cendor field was back in 2006.

However, the total oil-in-place volume grew through continuous efforts in appraising the block’s potential, which turned out to be large, he said.

“Known for its light and sweet quality, Cendor crude was billed as the most expensive in the world at one time.

“With the success of East Cendor, more active development activities are expected in the future to monetise the large remaining resources within Block PM304,” he said. 

Mohamed Firouz congratulated Petrofac and its partners for their successful delivery of the project despite the COVID-19 pandemic and volatile market conditions.

“This success is a testament to the close collaboration amongst all parties, including the local Malaysian fabricator and service providers, who have stepped up to the challenge during these unprecedented times,” he added.

East Cendor field represents the fourth in the series of developments in Block PM304, after Cendor, West Desaru, and Irama.

The project comprises the development of a single new wellhead platform and installation of a new 6.3km pipeline linking the field to the existing floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) Cendor.

The field’s production rate is expected to peak at over 7,000 barrels of oil per day which will further extend the economic life of Block PM304.

-- BERNAMA