Petronas and PTT Exploration and Production on Monday secured approval from Malaysia and Thailand for a new 35-year contract covering a gas-producing area in the countries' joint development zone, extending production beyond the current agreement's 2029 expiry.
The new production sharing contract covers Block A-18-01 in the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area and includes an adjacent area that could hold additional gas resources, Petronas said in a statement Monday.
The agreements were exchanged on Sept. 14 following cooperation between the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Authority, Petronas and PTTEP to create a new framework for developing the block.
The new contract took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and combines the existing Block A-18 area with the new exploration area. It is designed to maintain gas production while allowing the companies to explore for additional resources and develop the block over the longer term.
The Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area covers about 7,250 square kilometers and consists of Blocks A-18-01 and B-17-01. Together, the blocks can produce about 700 million standard cubic feet of natural gas a day, with the output shared equally between Malaysia and Thailand.
Block A-18-01 contains the Cakerawala, Bumi, Suriya, Bulan, South Bulan, Senja, East Bumi, Samudra and Wira gas fields, as well as an open area available for further exploration.
Block B-17-01 contains the Muda, Tapi, Tanjung, Amarit, Jengka, Melati and Andalas fields.