The Maharaja-Lela 2010 Exploration Campaign: The Key Opener for an Additional Development

The Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam field (MLJ), located 50km offshore Brunei, was discovered in 1990 and has been producing oil, gas and condensates since 1999. It is constituted of a series of faulted panels where the hydrocarbons are trapped in two or three way closures against normal faults. The reservoirs are good quality shoreface sands. A new exploration campaign, targeting undrilled down-dip panels, started in 2004 with a new seismic acquisition. Following processing and interpretation, several successful exploration wells were drilled. In 2010, Total drilled the deepest well in Brunei, reaching its TD at nearly 5700m. In spite of the high pressures and temperatures (over 1100 bars 65 degrees Celcius), the proven gas columns are high, while the reservoir properties are preserved by overpressures. This very successful exploration campaign has enabled the Bloc B JV Partnership to identify sufficient resources to start an incremental development project of the MLJ Field and to extend Gas Deliveries to Brunei LNG plant. It also opened up additional exploration opportunities.