Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala to develop Thai oil field

Mubadala Petroleum and its co-concessionaires have approved the development of an oil field in the northern Gulf of Thailand, the Abu Dhabi-based company announced in a statement. Mubadala said it hopes to begin production from the Manora field in early 2014, with peak production of 15,000 barrels a day within a few months of operation. The project is expected to cost $246 million. “The investment going forward in Manora field is a gross $246 million, of which Mubadala’s share is going to be 60 per cent,” a person familiar with the developments at Mubadala Petroleum told the UAE daily (Gulf News). “We are looking at the first production from Manora from early 2014. The field is expected to attain peak production rate of 15,000 barrels per day within a few months of the start of the production. The Manora field has proven reserves of 20.2 million barrels and it’s expected to remain in production for 11 years, beginning 2014,” he added. Through its Pearl Oil affiliates, Mubadala Petroleum holds a 60 per cent interest in the G1/48 concession and is the operator. The remaining interest is held by Tap Energy (Thailand) Pty Ltd (30 per cent) and Northern Gulf Petroleum Pte Ltd (10 per cent). The Manora field was discovered in 2009, and is located in the northern Gulf of Thailand approximately 80 kilometres offshore in a water depth of 44 meters. Following a successful appraisal program, conducted in 2010, the development concept was selected in late 2011 and consists of a central processing platform producing into a floating storage and offloading (FSO) vessel. The initial development phase will consist of 10 production wells and five water injection wells targeting the primary reservoir. Mubadala Petroleum said it is expected that a further 8.3 million barrels (gross), currently categorised as contingent resources, will be added to the reserves base, adding the exploitation of Manora’s potential secondary reservoirs will occur in subsequent years. Mubadala Petroleum manages assets and operations spanning 12 countries with a primary geographic focus on the Middle East, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia. Its current overall production is approximately 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.