(EnergyAsia, January 8, Thursday) — Malaysian state upstream company Petronas Carigali, ConocoPhillips of the US and Anglo-Dutch major Shell have signed a production sharing contract with state Petronas to appraise and develop four discovered natural gas and condensate fields in waters off the northwest coast of Sabah state.

The Kebabangan, Kamunsu East, Kamunsu East Upthrown and Kamunsu East Upthrown Canyon fields have been designated the “Kebabangan Cluster.”

Kebabangan is located in moderate water depth and is expected to be the first of the four fields to be developed, said ConocoPhillips. The other fields are expected to be developed at a later date once appraisal drilling is complete and commerciality is established.

The cluster represents an opportunity for the three PSC partners to build upon previously announced exploration success in their contiguous deepwater Malaysia Blocks G and J off the coast of Sabah.

These earlier announcements include two significant oil discoveries — Gumusut and Malikai, discovered in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Appraisal activities have been completed and development planning is under way for both of these fields.

The other recently announced oil discoveries in these blocks include Ubah and Petai, both of which are currently being evaluated for future appraisal and development.

Joint venture partners in the cluster PSC are ConocoPhillips Sabah Gas Ltd (30%), Petronas Carigali (40%) and Shell Energy Asia Limited (30%).

A joint operating company located in Kuala Lumpur has been established to act as the operator of the block on behalf of the partnership.

“We are very excited about our growing position in Malaysia and the strong partnership we have built with Petronas,” said Jim McColgin, president of Asia Pacific for ConocoPhillips. “Together, we hope that ConocoPhillips and Petronas will be able to continue to build a strong legacy position in Malaysia and other areas that will add to each company’s growth and value in Southeast Asia.”