Page 14 - AsianOil Week 11 2023

AsianOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES AsianOil

Jadestone delays Montara restart

AUSTRALIA JADESTONE Energy has had to postpone the production resumes,” Jadestone said.
restart of production at its Montara project off NOPSEMA gave its halt order based on two
Leaks were discovered the coast of Australia, it said this week. incidents that led to the loss of three tanks’ struc-
that led to the project’s The project was closed down in August 2022 tural integrity. The first incident happened on
shutdown last year. after a leak was discovered. Australia’s National June 17 with a containment loss that the regula-
Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmen- tor said could have been a “significant oil pollu-
tal Management Authority (NOPSEMA) tion incident.” The second occurred on August 3
instructed Jadestone that production could not with another containment loss. A different tank
resume until the company had provided assur- leaked into a ballast tank “compromising both
ances about the integrity of the facility’s hulls and tanks and their fitness for purpose.”
tanks. That order was listed in February. The regulator said the “system of manag-
However, while Jadestone has finished a four- ing structural integrity of the Montara Venture
year topsides maintenance programme, and is FPSO hull and tanks is failing to identify and
making progress towards restarting production, control structural integrity risks. Ongoing failure
it said on March 16 there were “a small number of the system to manage structural integrity risks
of inconsistencies in standard fittings” that had may result in significant safety and environmen-
been identified. It is now addressing those prob- tal impacts.”
lems to ensure safety – work that is expected to Jadestone produced 4,227 barrels per day
take around one week. (bpd) at Montara in 2022, down 45% year on
“A further announcement will be made when year as a result of the shut-in. ™

Shell closes Malaysian field stake sales

AUSTRALIA SHELL’S Malaysian unit has wrapped up the sale “Malaysia remains one of our eight core
of stakes in two offshore production-sharing upstream positions worldwide and we will con-
Shell announced the contracts in the country’s Baram Delta to domes- tinue to help power the country’s progress by
deal in December. tic player Petroleum Sarawak Exploration & Pro- investing in the oil and gas needed today, as well
duction (PSEP), the former reported this week. as in the transition to a low-carbon energy tran-
The transaction covers a 40% interest in the sition,” Shell upstream director Zoe Yujnovich
Amended 2011 Baram Delta EOR PSC and a said last year. ™
50% holding in the SK 307 PSC. Shell announced
its divestment plans in December, with the com-
pany netting $475mn from the deal.
The remaining interests in the contracts are
held by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas, which
also serves as operator.
The deal’s closure comes after it received a
green light from the Malaysia Petroleum Man-
agement regulator. It will be backdated to Jan-
uary 1, 2023.
In addition to the deal’s $475mn base consid-
eration, Shell could receive additional payments
of up to $50mn between 2023 and 2024, depend-
ing on commodity prices.
“This divestment is in line with Shell’s work
to focus its upstream portfolio,” Shell said. “Shell
retains a strong presence in Malaysia’s upstream,
gas-to-liquids, downstream and business ser-
vices sectors.”
Shell has interests in a further 19 PCSs in
Malaysia. In September last year it announced
a new investment in the Rosmari-Marjoram gas
project in Sarawak, Malaysia. Shell is joined at
the project by SSB and PCSB. The Rosmari-Mar-
joram sour fields are deepwater.

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