Total to award MLJS Expansion EPC packages
The French Major company Total and its partners, Shell from The Netherlands and the local Petroleum Brunei (PB) are on the point to award the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the development of the Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam South (MLJS) project offshore Brunei.
Lying in the Block B by 62 meters of water depth approximately 50 kilometers northeast from Brunei coast line, the liquids rich MLJS gas field was turned into first commercial operations in 1999.
Encapsulated in its reservoir at 5,200 meters of total depth, the gas of the Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam discovery requires advanced process for production and treatment because of its natural high temperature and high pressure.
To overcome these technical challenges, Total is acting as the operator with the working interests shared with its partners in such a way as:
– Total 37.5% is the operator
– Shell 35%
– Petroleum Brunei 27.5%
After onshore treatment, the gas is carried out to the Brunei liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility for export.
Currently, the Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam gas field produces 28,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
With the Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam South Expansion project, the Sultanate expects to double the production of the Brunei LNG plant.
This MLJS development project includes three EPC packages that Total and its partners Shell and Petroleum Brunei should award soon.
Technip completed MLJS development FEED
From the front end engineering and design (FEED) completed by the French engineering company Technip, the Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam South project has been split in three EPC packages:
– EPSC1: Onshore package
– EPSC2: Wellhead platform MLJS-3
– EPSC3: Installation of the wellhead platform and connection to export pipelines
The MLJS onshore package includes the expansion of the existing gas treatment plant and the export pipeline to Brunei LNG facilities.
After expansion the MLJS onshore gas central processing facility (CPF) should have a capacity of 5.7 million cubic meter per day of gas.
The wellhead platform should support 12 new slots with jacket due to be constructed in Brunei shipyard not yet existing.
As a first step to introduce 50% local content new regulation as part of a new Brunei-sation policy, the Sultanate has imposed the jacket to be executed in Brunei and will finance the construction of a new shipyard planned at Muara in that purpose.
In planning the three EPC packages of the Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam South development project to be awarded in the first quarter 2014, Total and its partners, Shell and Petroleum Brunei, are expecting the MLJS gas field to come into production at the end of 2015 despite the challenges of the new 50% Brunei-sation regulation.
