Argus Media Limited

09/20/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/20/2021 07:40

Platform leak to cut Malaysia's Kimanis crude exports

November exports of Malaysia's light sweet Kimanis crude will be around 30pc lower than initially planned as a result of operational issues at the Gumusut-Kakap deepwater field offshore Sabah state.

Exports are now scheduled at 100,000 b/d across five 600,000 bl cargoes in November, compared with 140,000 b/d across seven 600,000 bl shipments in the preliminary schedule released earlier this month.

A leak in a compressor unit at the Shell-operated Gumusut-Kakap field disrupted production and has delayed loadings by 8-10 days.

Two cargoes have been removed from the preliminary November programme. Malaysian state-owned Petronas will load one cargo on 21-25 November instead of two. And Thailand's state-owned PTT will no longer load any Kimanis in November.

Meanwhile, state-owned PetroBrunei's Kimanis cargo has been pushed back to 12-16 November, while Indonesia's state-controlled Pertamina will now load its cargo on 17-21 November. Shell and US firm ConocoPhillips will load one cargo each, on 26-30 November and 30 November-4 December, respectively.

The decline in Kimanis supplies may boost spot premiums for November cargoes. Back in August, Kimanis cargoes for loading in October traded at weaker premiums as incoming arbitrage shipments to Asia-Pacific weighed on the region's crude prices.

By Rhalain Reyes