Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) today signed two Exploration and Production Sharing Agreements with the Ministry of Oil of Bahrain for two offshore blocks, namely Blocks IV and VI.
The agreements were signed by President and Chief Executive of PETRONAS Tan Sri Dato’ Mohd Hassan Marican and by Bahrain Oil Minister His Excellency Shaikh Isa Ali Al Khalifa. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Dato Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Bahrain’s Prime Minister His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Salman Al Khalifa.
The ceremony was held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya in conjunction with the two-day working visit to Malaysia by the Bahrain Prime Minister and senior government officials.
Under the agreements, PETRONAS Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PETRONAS, will hold a 100 per cent equity in each block and will operate the blocks. The company plans to commence exploration drilling in each block by next year.
The signing of the agreements culminated from the award of the two blocks to PETRONAS by the Bahrain Government on 22 September. The award was based on proposals submitted by PETRONAS in June 2001 following the call for tender by the Government of Bahrain issued in March for three offshore blocks, namely Blocks IV, V and VI. Several other international oil companies also submitted their proposals for the Blocks.
The blocks, located southeastern offshore Bahrain, lie in a proven petroleum basin nearby giant oil and gas fields such as the Awali oil field onshore Bahrain, the Dukhan oil field and the North Gas field located onshore and offshore Qatar respectively, and the Ghawar oil field onshore Saudi Arabia.
Issued by
Legal and Corporate Affairs Division