Shell has started oil production from the Malikai Tension-Leg Platform (TLP), located 100-kilometres off the coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Located in waters up to 500-metres deep, Malikai is Shell’s second deep-water project in Malaysia, following the successful start-up of the Gumusut-Kakap platform in 2014. Malikai is expected to have a peak production of 60,000 barrels per day. As the company’s first TLP in the country, Malikai is an example of the strength of Shell’s global deep-water business, applying TLP expertise from decades of operations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

“Malikai marks an important milestone for Shell, its partners, Sabah and Malaysia. The project has demonstrated our capability in delivering competitive deep-water projects utilising our global expertise.” said Andy Brown, Upstream Director, Royal Dutch Shell.

The project features a cost-effective platform design and a unique, industry-first set of risers, or pipes that connect the platform to the wells for oil production, which required fewer drilling materials and lower costs.

Designed and built in Malaysia, the Malikai TLP project has allowed Shell to share deep-water expertise with Malaysian energy companies, playing an active role in helping the government develop the nation’s deep-water resources and deep-water service industry.

The Malikai project is a joint venture between Shell (35%, operator), ConocoPhillips Sabah (35%) and PETRONAS Carigali (30%).

Globally, Shell’s deep-water business is a growth priority for the company and currently produces 600,000 boe/d. Deep-water production is expected to increase to more than 900,000 boe/d by the early 2020s from already discovered, established reservoirs. Two other Shell-operated projects are currently under construction or undergoing pre-production commissioning: Coulomb Phase 2 and Appomattox in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. In September 2016, Shell announced the start of production at Stones in the Gulf of Mexico, the world’s deepest offshore oil and gas project beneath 2,900 metres of water.

About Malikai project

- Malikai is the first deep-water TLP in Malaysia and the first Shell TLP outside of the Gulf of Mexico
- Malikai employs a tension leg platform (TLP), a vertically floating structure moored by groups of tethers (tendons) at each corner. The groups of tendons are held upright in tension, giving the platform its name.
- Production wellheads on deck (connected directly to the subsea wells by rigid risers), instead of on the seafloor, allows simpler well completion and gives better control over the production from the reservoir, and easier access for downhole intervention operations.
- Malikai has a number of advanced deep-water technologies to unlock deep-water resources safely and efficiently:
- A fit-for purpose riserless vessel to perform top hole operations, ahead of TLP installation
- First TLP coupled with a tender assisted drilling (TAD) rig
Application of the mud recovery without riser technology on a dynamically positioned vessel.
- Oil and gas are sent 50km to the Kebabangan Oil Hub for processing before evacuation to onshore Sabah Oil & Gas Terminal.

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