Inpex Offshore Northwest Sabah, a unit of Inpex, has signed an agreement with major Australian oil and gas exploration and production company Santos to transfer a 25% participating interest in the Deepwater Block S offshore East Malaysia.
The block, which covers an area of 574km² with a water depth ranging from 200m to 1,500m, is located in the Sabah basin where large reserves of oil and natural gas, including the Kikeh and the Gumusut-Kakap oil fields, were discovered.
Inpex, along with Petronas Carigali, acquired the block as an operator in January 2012, following which Inpex Sabah carried out three-dimensional seismic survey and geological and geophysical studies.
Based on study results, Inpex plans to drill wildcat wells this year to discover new oil and natural gas deposits.
Currently, Santos and Inpex are performing many oil and gas exploration and production activities, including the Bayu-Undan project in the joint petroleum development area between Australia and Timor-Leste, and several exploration permits adjacent to the Ichthys LNG project in north-western Australia.
Santos focuses on oil and gas exploration and production activities in the Asian and Oceania regions.