Mubadala Petroleum’s Andaman acreage to benefit from new gas discovery in Indonesia

A 390-foot gas column has been discovered following the drilling of the Timpan-1 exploration well offshore North Sumatra

Mubadala Petroleum reached a milestone of 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in June 2022. Photo: Mubadala

Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Petroleum said a 390-foot gas column has been discovered following the drilling of the Timpan-1 exploration well 150 kilometres offshore North Sumatra in Indonesia.

The findings in the high net to gross fine-grained sandstone reservoir are a strong signal that the adjacent Andaman I and South Andaman fields, in which Mubadala Petroleum holds an 80 per cent participating interest, will also include material underexplored resources, Mubadala Petroleum said in a statement on Wednesday.

“With demand for gas increasing across the South-East Asia region, this discovery not only supports our gas-biased strategy but has the potential to help meet energy demand in this dynamic and fast-growing market,” said Mansoor Al Hamed, chief executive of Mubadala Petroleum.

Mubadala Petroleum, a unit of Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment arm Mubadala Investment Company, has a gas-weighted portfolio with assets and operations spanning 11 countries, primarily in the Middle East and North Africa region, Russia and South-East Asia.

The company's total production reached 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in June as it continues to expand its operations on the back of new strategic investments.

Mubadala Petroleum has continued to expand its operations over the past 12 months. It bought a 22 per cent stake in the Eastern Mediterranean’s Tamar field from Israel’s Delek Drilling, which was renamed NewMed Energy last year. The deal was valued at more than $1 billion.

The Timpan-1 well, operated by Harbour Energy, which conducted the drilling campaign and holds a 40 per cent stake in the field, discovered a good gas quality column with the well test reaching a rate of 27 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and 1,884 barrels per day of condensate, according to the statement.

Mubadala Petroleum is the largest net acreage holder in the area, having secured the core of the underexplored proven basin in the Andaman region.

The positive outcome from the Timpan-1 discovery will “support de-risking multi trillion cubic feet prospects and provide a foundation for future organic growth in line with the company’s gas-biased strategy”, it said.