EOR projects to contribute 150,000 bpd: Petronas

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) expects the implementation of improved oil recovery (IOR) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects to contribute 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the domestic production by 2020.

Vice President, Petroleum Management Exploration and Production Business, Adif Zulkifli, said the IOR and EOR technologies had improved oil recovery to between 40 and 50 per cent from 35 per cent on average in fields using traditional methods.

"The increase in recovery will give us another two billion barrels of oil," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference Asia 2014 here today.

To date, he said, there were 20 billion barrels of oil in place in Malaysian reservoir.

Adif said apart from improving oil recovery factor, IOR and EOR projects also helped arrest the declining production of maturing oilfields.

"The projects have reduced the declining oil production to between two and three per cent from eight and 10 per cent without the technology," he said.

Currently, oil production in Malaysia stood at 500,000 bpd, down from 650,000 bpd during its peak in the 90s.

On EOR projects, Adif said, the company currently has identified 14 fields to be implemented with EOR technology.

Of these, three projects had been approved, including Tapis field, offshore East peninsular which was scheduled to produce its first oil early next year, he said.

"Two more projects are Baronia oilfield (now in a tendering process) and Betty oilfield (just received approval). Both are located offshore Sarawak," said Adif.

Both oilfields were expected to start producing oil using EOR technology by 2017 and 2018, respectively, he said