Sabah Shell Petroleum Company (SSPC) has started first oil production from phase four of the Gumusut-Kakap-Geronggong-Jagus East (GKGJE) deep-water offshore project.
Oil from phase four is transported to the existing Gumusut-Kakap semi-submersible floating production system (GK-Semi FPS) off the coast of Sabah, Malaysia.
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As the operator, SSPC manages the project, which includes a subsea tie-back crossing the Malaysia-Brunei border comprising three producer wells and one water injection well.
Gumusut-Kakap, Shell’s first deep-water project in Malaysia, lies at a depth of 1,200m and began production in 2014.
Shell Malaysia country chair and senior vice-president for integrated gas & upstream Malaysia Siti Sulaiman said: “This achievement reaffirms Shell’s ongoing commitment in innovating and executing safe, reliable and sustainable projects that meets today’s energy needs. I would like to thank Malaysia Petroleum Management Petronas, Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam, National Unitisation Secretariat, our government in Malaysia and our partners for their unwavering support in achieving this significant milestone.”
The phase four development is expected to bolster Shell’s global initiative to introduce new upstream projects that will cumulatively add around 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) at peak production between 2023 and 2025.
SSPC operates two key deep-water oil assets in Sabah: Gumusut-Kakap, which commenced in 2014, and Malikai, which followed in 2016.
The completion of Gumusut-Kakap phase two in 2019 added four subsea tie-back wells to the GK-Semi floating production system, with the first oil achieved in August 2019. Phase three saw first oil in July 2022.
The final investment decision for phase four was made in October 2022, with the project expected to produce an average of approximately 21,000boepd, representing the total gross production.
The GKGJE project is a collaborative venture with partners including ConocoPhillips Sabah, Petronas Carigali, PT PERTAMINA Malaysia Eksplorasi Produksi, PTTEP Sabah Oil, Shell Sabah Selatan, SSPC and several Brunei-based companies.
In March 2021, Brunei and Petronas formalised a unitisation agreement for the GKGJE fields, designating SSPC as the unit operator.
