Vast oil and gas reserves discovered

Quratul-Ain Bandial

BRUNEI has discovered potentially vast reserves of oil and gas in the South China Sea that are double current key performance indicators (KPIs), said the Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday.

Existing plans, together with new findings from offshore blocks, are expected to deliver 3.5 billion barrels of oil by 2035, it was revealed in the Energy White Paper released yesterday at the launch of “Energy Week.”

“Last year we had a very good discovery. In fact, our discovery exploration result is double than our KPI within the present acreage area (of Brunei’s exclusive economic zone),” said Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Hj Mohammad Yasmin Hj Umar.

The minister told The Brunei Times that the government plans to increase drilling activity in the coming years to surpass the current production rate of 372,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOEPD). The split is approximately 40 per cent oil to 60 per cent gas.

The Energy Department at the Prime Minister’s Office (EDPMO) is targeting a production rate of 430,000 BOEPD by 2017, and 650,000 BOEPD by 2035.

YB Pehin Dato (Dr) Hj Mohd Yasmin said he was confident the country could recover from a 7.7 per cent decline in oil and gas production in 2013, which was due to ongoing maintenance at the oil refinery and offshore platforms.

Due to the drop in energy output, the economy is expected to register negative growth of 1.4 per cent at the end of the financial year on March 31, compared to 0.9 per cent growth in 2012. “We are doing a lot of rejuvenating of the offshore platforms. The process is going on, but give it another year or two years and we’ll be back,” he said, explaining that some of the facilities were over 40 years old and well overdue for maintenance.

In order for the national economy to reach the six per cent per annum growth target prescribed under Vision 2035, the energy sector must increase GDP output from $10 billion to $42 billion by 2035.

“We can (achieve the target),” said YB Pehin Dato (Dr) Hj Mohd Yasmin. “It’s difficult at the moment but we can.”

According to the Energy White Paper, the two major energy companies awarded offshore concessions have developed “significant exploration plans.”

Brunei must maintain an oil and gas reserve replacement ratio (RRR) of more than one to meet growth targets.

The RRR has been in the range of 0.3 to 0.7 in the past decade but has climbed above one in the past five years.


Sumber - The Brunei Times