| Azaraimy HH |
TOTAL E&P Borneo BV (TEPB) recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with its Block B joint venture partners. The French oil giant also celebrated its 1st Gas Delivery from the Maharaja-Lela Jamalul Alam 3 Platform (MLJ3).
Total has shown its commitment to ensure that Bruneians benefit from the Block B Petroleum Mining Agreement whether it be through local employment or providing opportunities for local content. Its Mahajara Lela South (MLS) project had employed 60 Energy Industry Competency Framework (EICF) trainees for the fabrication works of the MLJ-Jacket and that the jacket was the first to be fabricated 100 per cent at the PB Services Fabrication Yard in Muara.
As the Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office, Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar said during the celebration recently, “The fact that Total E&P Borneo BV chose to do the fabrication of the MLJ3 Platform in Brunei Darussalam shows the faith that they have in the commitment and the capabilities of our local workforce and local companies, which have paved the way for more projects of that scale to be done in Brunei Darussalam.”
There are currently 69 local Bruneians out of 104 employed with Total E&P Borneo BV.
In addition to commitment to create jobs for locals, Total in Brunei has also contributed significantly in other local talent creation commitments, for example it has provided scholarship opportunities to aspiring Bruneians since 2012. Today, it has a total of 10 scholars pursuing their studies up to Masters Level in France.
Total sent its first batch of Bruneians scholars to France under the company’s education scholarship scheme in 2012. The Total Education Scholarship Scheme is a result of the cooperation between Total E&P Deep Offshore Borneo BV together with partners to the Commercial Area Joint Venture and PetroleumBRUNEI, along with the support from the Energy Department at the Prime Minister’s Office (EIDPMO).
The scholarship programme is quite an extensive six-year endeavour. Under the scholarship programme, recipients were given the opportunity to undergo their undergraduate studies at top universities in France, and then they will continue their postgraduate studies.
Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office, Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, in a group photo with EICF students at the MLS project launch in 2014. – PHOTOS: TEPB
First batch of the Total Education Scholarship Scheme in a group photo.
The exclusiveness of the programme allows recipients to gain international work experience in some of Total’s global offices or any other organisation related to their field.
In addition to scholarship opportunities, Total had also provided opportunities to selected local undergraduates from local higher education institutions to join students from around the world in what is called Total Energy Summer School (TESS) in Paris. Total has offered the opportunities since 2012.
TESS – organised by French energy company Total – is a highly engaging and interactive programme where students, leading academics and industry experts from all over the world explored future challenges and solutions for the energy industry. The highly competitive programme received 6,761 applications this year with only 80 applicants selected.
It also hosted 40 professors and around 30 experts and managers from Total. TESS focused on new global energy challenges and their impact on the sector and the world of education.
Total commitment to Bruneians is reflected from its equally strong level of optimism and commitment to contribute towards the nation’s economy.
After producing for more than 15 years without any decline – and exceeding the initial estimate of ultimate reserves – the Maharaja Lela field is now entering a new lease of life with the signing of a 20-year extension to the original PMA contract in early 2014. This extension will allow developing and producing the very deeply buried reservoirs which were proved productive despite a geologic configuration that many geologists were considering hopeless. These reservoirs were the deepest and most highly pressured ever discovered in the area.
Vincent Dutel, General Manager of Total E&P Borneo BV, in an interview said the technology involved in the drilling activities is at the limit of the current technological capabilities of the industry worldwide.
Dutel said the production at the third well of MLJ (MLJ3) boosted their production by 30 per cent.
What is even more commendably outstanding is that, Total E&P Borneo BV is able to do all these within the downturn price climate. Dutel said they are able to do this by carrying out a very efficient resource and time management that contributed towards lower operation costs. He said while TEPB cannot control the price of gas it can however attempt to control the cost in delivering a project which means they stay profitable despite lower prices.
According to Dutel, TEPB is in the process of drilling a third well at the MLJ3 platform towards strengthening its daily target of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent. Currently drilling at the third well is around a depth of 5,300 metres, just 200 metres from their target.
However as they go deeper, the higher the pressure, and TEPB needs to pay special attention to maintain safety and ensure success.
TEPB is also looking to drill another three wells in the future. It is currently focusing on maintaining 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day until 2020.
Meanwhile, Total also achieved a remarkable success in operating for 17 years without Lost Time Injury.
In 2014, the Government of Brunei introduced a number of new safety regulations, including the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations.
These laws required TEPB to prepare and submit Safety Cases to EIDPMO which document how they manage major risks at their Onshore Processing Plant and Offshore platforms MLJ-01 and MLJ-02. Total was the first oil and gas operator in Brunei to have its fixed facility Safety Cases approved.
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