Petronas starts offshore oil exploration in Sudan

Petronas awarded Sudan’s exploration Block 15, marking entry into the country’s offshore operation.

Asia in Focus.

Sep 1, 2005 (KUALA LUMPUR) — PETROLIAM NASIONAL BERHAD (Petronas) has been awarded Sudan’s exploration Block 15, marking the Malaysian state-owned oil giant’s entry into the offshore operation in the country. Petronas signed the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) for the block, the first gas EPSA in Sudan, in Khartoum on 30 August 2005.

– Block 15 covers an area of 28,655 square kilometers within the Red Sea Basin and about half of the acreage is located in deep waters between 300 to 800 meter water depths.

– Petronas Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd has a 35 per cent stake in the block while the remaining equity is owned by China National Petroleum Corporation (35 per cent), Sudan’s national oil company Sudapet (15 per cent), Express Petroleum of Nigeria (10 per cent) and High Tech Group (5 per cent), a Sudanese company.