KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 27): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is offering 14 exploration blocks, six clusters of Discovered Resource Opportunities (DRO) and one cluster of Late Life Assets (LLA) in its Malaysia Bid Round 2022 (MBR 2022) launched on Thursday (Jan 27).

In a statement, Petronas said the 14 exploration blocks on offer are located in prolific geological provinces within the Malay, Sabah and Sarawak basins.

Most of these blocks contain existing oil and/or gas discoveries that will accelerate monetisation activities, the Fortune 500 company said.

"Through our basin study work, we believe there are many more prospects to be identified in the Malaysia basins, with the estimated remaining potential of about 21 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BBOE).

"We welcome players with unique capabilities to unlock the potential in both old and new places," according to Petronas senior vice president of Malaysia Petroleum Management, Mohamed Firouz Asnan.

The national oil firm added that the six DRO clusters featured in the MBR 2022 are Meranti, Ubah, Baram Jr, A, C, and D, mostly in shallow water and are nearby existing production infrastructure.

In addition, Petronas said the single LLA, which includes a cluster of three fields named the Abu Cluster, provides an opportunity for the new operator to sweat the remaining oil in place using existing facilities.

Meanwhile, Petronas is also offering technical study arrangements for two exploration areas in southern Malay Basin and northwest Sabah Basin.

"Through the study, investors will have an opportunity to better understand the potential of the acreages, prior to submitting a bid proposal.

"While the attractive Enhanced Profitability Terms (EPT) Production Sharing Contract (PSC) will continue to be applied to shallow water blocks, the newly introduced Small Field Asset (SFA) and LLA PSC terms will accompany the DRO and LLA on offer, respectively," it said.

Following the MBR 2022 launch, Petronas is hosting a virtual data room which will be accessible from Thursday until June 30, allowing potential investors to conduct data review anywhere and anytime during the bid round period.

The platform PETRONAS myPROdata was also launched at the event, to provide investors with insights into the full potential of Malaysia's exploration and production resources. It comes with five different subscription plans, each with its own set of data access, and is accessible 24/7.