Oil and gas reserves can last 10 years, Dewan Rakyat told
The largest reserve is in Sarawak says minister Azmin Ali, adding that Petronas needs to continue searching for new reserves.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s oil and gas reserves are expected to last 10 years based on the annual average production rate, the economic affairs minister told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) has to carry on searching for new reserves within and outside the country to ensure the sustainability of the petroleum resources in Malaysia, Azmin Ali said.
“This is, in particular, referring to the deepwater wells. However, the cost in oil and gas exploration is high, amounting to about 70% and 80% of the production cost because of the complexity and risks Petronas has to face,” he said in a written reply.
Azmin was answering a question from Hasan Arifin (BN-Rompin) who wanted to know how many unexplored oil and natural gas reservoirs were left in Malaysia. Hasan also asked how long the oil and natural gas reserves could last.
Azmin said there were around 6.7 billion boe (barrels of oil equivalent) of oil and gas reserves left in Malaysia.
He listed the percentage of oil and gas reserves in the peninsula as 2.2 billion boe while Sarawak has 2.8 billion boe and Sabah 1.7 billion boe.
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“The discovery of new reserves will hopefully help the country’s oil and gas reserves last longer and ensure the country has a continuous supply of oil and gas,” he added.