Myanmar Petroleum Exploration & Production Co., Ltd. (MPEP) was the local partner of choice of Eni Myanmar, Shell and Woodside which were awarded licenses in the second onshore and the first offshore licensing rounds.
Overview
Myanmar Petroleum Exploration & Production Co., Ltd. (MPEP),was a sister company of MPRL E&P, was a member of a joint venture also comprising Eni Myanmar operating onshore block RSF-5.
Following Eni Myanmar’s withdrawal from Block RSF-5, MPEP has assumed the operatorship of the block.
Assets
A-4 Asset Exploration History
Block A-4, operated by Shell, is immediately adjacent to proven onshore local oil production in the Ramree and Cheduba islands. The block is located in the Western Ayeyarwady Offshore of Myanmar and is south of blocks A-1 and A-3 (both operated by Daewoo). About a quarter of the block is in waters deeper than 500 m. The block was operated by Arakan Oil development Corporation (AODC) during the early 1970s during which 3,000 line-km of 2D seismic was acquired. Subsequently, an exploration well, drilled down to nearly 8,000 ft, showed evidence of gas. No production testing was undertaken and the well was plugged and abandoned.
The block was operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) from 2004-2011, whereby multiple 2D seismic surveys were undertaken. However, there was no exploration drilling activities conducted following the seismic surveys and the block was relinquished by CNOOC in 2011.
The JV acquired 4,600 km2 of 3D seismic in the deep waters, and mapped a number of promising structures. The Production Sharing Contract of Block A-4 expired in 2019.
Key Facts
A-7 Asset Exploration History
Block A-7, operated by Woodside, is adjacent to the south of block A-6 where MPRL E&P made a play opening gas discovery in March 2012 followed by four more discoveries in Deep Waters in 2016-2018 with partners Woodside and TotalEnergies.
The Dhana Hlaing-1 exploration well in A-7 spudded on 26 June 2018, and was plugged and abandoned with good gas shows on 18 July 2018.
The Pyi Tagun-1 exploration well in Block A-7, spudded on 17 January 2021, was plugged and abandoned with promising gas shows on 05 February 2021.
Block A-7 is located in the Western Ayeyarwady Offshore of Myanmar. About one third of the block is in waters deeper than 1,000 m. The block was operated by Martaban City Services Inc. (MCSI) in the 1970s during which 2,633 km of 2D seismic were acquired. An exploration well was subsequently drilled down to 12,700 ft by MSCI in 1976 during which there was little evidence of the existence of a petroleum system. No production testing was undertaken and the well was plugged and abandoned.
The block was later operated by Korea Myanmar Development Company (KMDC) in 2008-2012 during which a reprocessing of the existing vintage 2D seismic data was undertaken. No additional seismic or data acquisition activities were undertaken and the block was relinquished in 2012.
The Production Sharing Contract of Block A-7 expired in September 2021.
Key Facts
RSF-5 Asset Exploration History
Block RSF-5, initially operated by Eni Myanmar, is located some 35 km southeast of the Mann field where MPRL E&P has been providing production enhancement services to MOGE for 25 years.
Block RSF-5 is located in the onshore central Myanmar region, approximately 400 km north of Yangon. The block lies mainly over agricultural land with a few forested and scrubby areas. The block is bounded by the Ayeyarwady River to the west and is readily accessible via roads from the city of Magway. A total of 16 wells have been drilled over the structure, including six during the pre-World War II period. A petroleum system is apparent in the block as suggested by well BOC-1, drilled to test the Ondwe surface structure in 1919 and which tested minor amounts of gas from the upper Miocene Obogon formation. Two deep wells were abandoned in 1956-1958 with very strong gas shows in overpressured sandstones of the Oligocene Okhmintaung formation.
Shell acquired a 59-km regional seismic line across the Ondwe structure in 1990. Subsequently, RSF-5 was operated by Exspan during the period of 1997-2002. Exspan drilled Ondwe NW-1 and tested a weak gas flow, yet not fluctuating, in the same Okhmintaung sandstones as in the deep wells of the late 1950’s.
After having acquired some 480 km2 of 3D seismic in 2018, Eni Myanmar completed drilling operations of its first exploration well “Shwe Nan Htike-1” on 13 May 2020. The well, spudded on 30 December 2019, reached total depth at 3,564 m in Oligocene Lower Padaung tight sandstones showing gas. The well was temporarily plugged & abandoned after sampling wet gas, again in the same Okhmintaung sandstones as above mentioned, pending the results of further studies before potential re-entry.
Upon withdrawal of Eni Myanmar effective 30 July 2022, MPEP is integrating data and carrying out studies, to assess the feasibility of drilling another well.
The Ondwe Structure is located in the southernmost part of a hydrocarbon proven structural trend that extends along the Lepando, Yenangyat, Chauk, Yenangyaung fields. The Ondwe structure is a NW-SE 58-km2 dip closure (four times the area of the Mann field) dissected by normal faults. Hydrocarbon bearing sands are mainly from the Miocene Okhmintaung and potentially Padaung sandstones, by contrast with the production from Mann field, derived from both Miocene (Kyaukkok and Pyawbwe) and Oligocene (Okhmintaung and Padaung) formations.
Key Facts
PSC-K Asset Exploration History
Block PSC-K, operated by Eni Myanmar, is located between the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw to the south and Mandalay to the north, in gas-thirsty fast developing areas of the country.
The block, located some 500 km north of Yangon lies mostly in hilly terrain, forests and agricultural land. A gravity survey of 2,355 km was acquired by MOGE during 1971-1978. MOGE also acquired 26 km of 2D seismic in 1981, as well as a regional surface geological and geochemical survey in 1998.
ENI covered the undrilled block with a high-density airborne gradiometry survey in 2016 – the first of this kind onshore Myanmar – and an extensive soil geochemical survey in 2020. MPEP holds all the data.
The Production Sharing Contract of Block PSC-K expired in January 2021.
