BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Shell is eyeing deep water exploration as the future for oil and gas resources in Brunei Darussalam, and is aiming for longevity for its existing facilities in the Sultanate, Borneo Bulletin reported.
This was revealed by Maarten Wetselaar, Executive Vice President of integrated Gas for Shell Upstream International, in a response to a question from the Borneo Bulletin during a teleconference in Doha, Qatar.
On what the company’s plans for Brunei were, Wetselaar said: “We are privileged to have been in Brunei for over 80 years and continue to play a very relevant role in the country”
This, he said, is underlined by the recent visit of the Queen of Holland to Brunei and that of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam to Holland a few years ago.
He said: “With 80 years of history and 40 years in LNG, Brunei has a lot of breathing room ahead of it.
“Together with the Brunei government, we are increasing our investment in exploration in Brunei in order to test the deep water section of Brunei offshore to bring hydrocarbon research into play.
“To me, Brunei has a lot more breathing room ahead of itself and in close cooperation with the government, we will continue to play a very relevant role in Asia as an energy source for the rest of the region to benefit from.”
Wetselaar noted that depending on exactly how much oil and gas the company is able to find, Shell might expand further in the Sultanate.
For now, he says that Shell intends to stay close to Bruneian shores to make sure that existing facilities can continue to be used for a long time.
“Last year, we were able to sell energy contracts for another 10 years, and we are investing more than $300 million to make sure that facilities in Brunei are able to continue on for another 20 years and be ready for more exploration success,” he said.
On the region as a whole, he underlined that Shell is a substantial player in Southeast Asia, particularly through Brunei and Malaysia.
“We continue to explore very heavily for oil and gas resources in the area, and we are keen to diversify our markets even further,” he said.