Situated in permit PMP 323 acreage offshore Malaysia, the Belumut area consists of four fields, East Belumut, West Belumut, Lerek and Chermingat in the Malay Basin. Spanning 335,000 acres about 185 miles (298 kilometers) offshore Kemaman, Terengganu, the four fields hold an estimated 360 million barrels of oil in place. Serving as operator of the permit is Newfield, owning a 60% interest; Carigali owns 40%.

East Belumut

During exploratory campaigns in the late 1970s and 1990s, Exxon discovered East Belumut, but the field wasn't developed. In 2005, Newfield Exploration signed a Production Sharing Contract on PM323 in mid-2005 and began developing the small marginal field.

Once the contract was signed, the operator moved forward with development through two phases. In the first phase, the company brought one oil producer and one gas injector online and connected them to a Central Processing Platform, East Belumut A. Phase two consisted of increasing production capacity by drilling five additional wells, and boosting gas injection capability for reservoir maintenance. Around 2010, the operator plans to drill 15 additional producers in the field.

The East Belumut A is a drilling/process/accommodations platform with a production capacity of 50,000 bopd. The platform is a four-pile design with a skirt pile support jacket structure that supports an integrated deck with processing, compression and utility capabilities.

Estimated to hold 20 to 25 MMbbl, East Belumut commenced production on June 30, 2008.

Chermingat

In waters measuring 213 feet (65 meters), Chermingat's development consisted of drilling one extended reach well and two directional wells, and connecting them to a wellhead platform, Chermingat A (CHR-A), which is tied-back to the East Belumut A platform for processing and export.

The CHR-A platform is an unmanned, remote, minimal facility that is a three-legged steel-insert-piled tripod structure with four well slots. Estimated to hold 7 MMbbl, the field came online on May 18, 2008.

West Belumut

Field development of West Belumut will consist of drilling two development wells and connecting them to a wellhead platform tied-back to East Belumut A platform.

Holding an estimated 4 MMbbl, West Belumut is expected to come online in 2011 or 2012.

Lerek

Situated 31 miles (50 kilometers) from East Belumut, Lerek's plan for development calls for seven to 12 development wells connecting to the Lerek CPP and tied-back to East Belumut A platform. Lerek will commence production sometime in 2011 or 2012.