KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has signed a production sharing contract (PSC) with SK earthon Co Ltd (SK earthon) and Petroleum Sarawak Exploration and Production Sdn Bhd (PSEP) for Block SK427 off the coast of Sarawak.

       In a statement today, it said SK earthon, a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Korea’s SK Innovation Co Ltd, is the operator of the block with 85 per cent participating interest while PSEP, the Sarawak-owned oil and gas company, hold the remaining 15 per cent.

       Petronas senior vice-president of Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM) Mohamed Firouz Asnan said Block SK427 PSC is one of the six blocks awarded from the Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2021, demonstrating Malaysia’s potential as an attractive investment destination for companies seeking to grow their energy portfolio and thrive in the energy transition.

       "Under our ‘right asset, right player’ strategy supported by a progressive fiscal regime, we hope to fully maximise the long-term value of the nation’s hydrocarbon resources,” he said.

       Block SK427 is located within the prolific area of Balingian and Tatau hydrocarbon provinces covering an area of 3,349 sq kilometres.

       The block is situated in a proven hydrocarbon system and has promising hydrocarbon potential to be unlocked with several significant hydrocarbon discoveries made in 2021 in the Balingian province near the block, namely Sirung-1 and Hadrah-1 wells.

       MBR is an annual Malaysia licensing round hosted by MPM which offers investors diverse upstream opportunities, including exploration acreages, discovered resource opportunities and late life producing assets.

       The MBR 2022, themed "Your Advantaged Energy is Here”, was launched on Jan 27, 2022 and will run until June 30, 2022, offering 14 exploration blocks, six discovered resource opportunities clusters and one late life asset cluster. - Bernama