Aker Kvaerner Subsea, a subsidiary of Aker Kvaerner, was awarded a contract recently by Murphy Sabah Oil Co Ltd for the development of the Kikeh deepwater oilfield offshore Sabah.
The contract is for engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning assistance of the subsea production systems for the Kikeh project.
President and chief executive officer, Inge K. Hansen, said the company sees Malaysia as an attractive location.
“We have been in Malaysia for 17 years, and with the recent award of a contract in Kikeh deepwater oilfield, we are looking at establishing Malaysia as a deep-water hub.”
“We feel getting the Kikeh contract will establish a good platform for that development (making Malaysia a hub for deep-water exploration),” he told Business Times in Kuala Lumpur.
Hansen continued that Aker Kvaerner would like to work with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and other major oil players in the region for the development of deepwater activities.
“It is really interesting on what Petronas is doing for the deep-water development. It would be very challenging for the company as previously its activities centred on shallow-water exploration,” Hansen said.
Hansen said the high crude oil price is an incentive to increase oil recovery, which will require more advanced technology research and development.
Aker Kvaerner, for example, is doubling its technology spending to 250 million kroner this year.
Hansen said Malaysia and Norway share similarities in the development of their respective oil and gas sectors.
Both countries set up their national oil companies (Petronas for Malaysia and Statoil for Norway) in the early 1970s. Statoil and Petronas are also both looking at gas and more deep-water exploration.
“Statoil and Petronas have the same ambition internationally,” Hansen said, adding that Petronas and Statoil are among the three most successful national oil companies globally.
