Offshore Malaysia's first ultra-deepwater project

摘要

Malaysia has a long history of offshore drilling with proper oilfield support. However, ultra-deepwater drilling had not taken place in the country when Murphy Sabah Oil Co., Ltd. signed a production sharing agreement with Petronas in January 1999 covering deepwater leases offshore Sabah, Malaysia, near northern Borneo. Leads on block K ranged in water depth from 1,300 to 2,000 m. Due to limited offset information and the possibility of abnormally pressured zones near the mud line, this project became a classic rank deepwater drilling exercise. With careful attention to logistics, well design, communication with stakeholders, and coordinated operations, all five of the ultra-deepwater wells reached the desired total depth under budget, and all geological goals were accomplished. Lessons learned from this project will have a positive impact on future Malaysian deepwater operations.