Lundin finds oil offshore Malaysia

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden, March 11 (UPI) -- The Malaysian subsidiary of Swedish energy company Lundin Petroleum said it discovered oil while drilling off the coast of Malaysia.

Lundin Malaysia said it encountered nine thin oil-bearing sands in the shallow waters off the coast of the country. The objective of the exploratory well, Ara-1, was to confirm the extension of existing plays encountered in 2011.

Lundin explained that Ara-1 was plugged and abandoned and work was under way to estimate the reserve potential of the discovery.

In November, Lundin said it made a natural gas discovery in a vertical well drilled in shallow waters off Malaysia. Drilling in the Tembakau-1 well encountered a gas pay measuring a net 196 feet over five intervals.

Malaysia ranks third, behind China and India, in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of oil reserves. The country as of January 2011 had proven oil reserves of around 4 billion barrels. Natural gas reserves were estimated at 83 trillion cubic feet, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports.