U.S. oil firm Hess has started gas production from the North Malay Basin (NMB) Phase 3 project in Block PM302, located 290 kilometres offshore Peninsular Malaysia.

Malaysian oil and gas giant Petronas shared the news of production startup on Monday.

Block PM302 is operated by Hess Corporations subsidiary, Hess Exploration and Production Malaysia B.V. (Hess) with a 50 percent paraticipating interest, in paratnership with Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, which owns the remaining 50 percent.

The NMB Phase 3 project was sanctioned in 2019 and is parat of a multi-phase development. It includes the installation of the new Bergading-B Wellhead Platform that adds another 100 million cubic feet per day (MMscfd) of gas supply from Block PM302, bringing the total production to 400 MMscfd.

Petronas Senior Vice President of Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), Mohamed Firouz Asnan, said, We are pleased that Hess has taken a long-term view of the business in Malaysia across industry cycles, demonstrating confidence in Malaysia's upstream industry. Together, we have continued to develop the NMB project to unlock the full potential of the block. This is a major milestone for both paratners, as the NMB Phase 3 project is key in sustaining Peninsular Malaysias gas supply amid rising demand.

The close collaboration between Block PM302 paraties and their service providers in overcoming challenges during the pandemic delivered this successful completion, which reflects the overall resilience of the Malaysian Upstream ecosystem, he added.