Petronas wins Sudan contract

Petronas wins Sudan contract

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters):- Malaysian state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd said on Thursday it had won an exploration and production contract in Sudan as part of a group of companies.

Petronas and its partners -- Sudapet Ltd, IPC Sudan Ltd and OMV Aktiengesselshaft -- were awarded a contract for Block 5B onshore by the government of Sudan, the Malaysian oil firm said in a statement.

Petronas will hold a 41 percent stake in the block while IPC and OMV will each own 24.5 percent. Sudapet will hold the remaining 10 percent.

"The contractor will reprocess all existing seismic data, acquire and process 1,000 line-km of new 2-D seismic data, as well as drill three wildcat wells," Petronas said.

"The contractor's minimum financial commitment for the contract is $33 million."

Petronas, which is involved in four other blocks in Sudan's oil-rich Muglad Basin, has been expanding its overseas operations to help reduce its dependence on Malaysia's oil and gas reserves.