Border dispute resolution vital to Brunei's future
Thursday, September 6, 2007
THE maritime border that is the subject of a dispute between Brunei and Malaysia holds plenty of potential for oil exploration that will help the sultanate meet future demand for fossil fuel that will continue to be in high demand until 2050.
Thus said Greg Hill, executive vice president of Shell Exploration Production Asia-Pacific, who noted that energy demand will double in 25 years time.
"Easy oil is running out, we are struggling to keep up with demand," he said during the maiden session of the Energy Week Symposium yesterday.
"Today, coal, oil and gas account for 80 per cent of the global energy demand. It will still be 80 per cent in the future," he said, explaining that the world population is expected to grow to nine billion by 2050 and the average wealth will more than quadruple, leading to the expedited demand.
Investing in exploration technology is costly, Brunei is already ingraining certain technologies in order to pump oil from the earth. With time, Brunei will need more advanced technology such as deep-sea drilling as oil and gas become harder to come by.
Operational cost for one oil rig is estimated at US$300,000 a day, said Hj Mohammad Anas Hj Abd Latif from the Petroleum Unit of the Prime Minister's Office.
Despite the heavy expense, it is necessary to invest in exploring technology as "resources have no value if it stays in the ground," he said.
The maritime border dispute began in 2003 when both Malaysia awarded exploration contracts to independent US oil companies. The year before Brunei also awarded contracts to a consortium of foreign companies for the same blocks north-west off the Borneo Island.
The area is relatively near to where a 440-million-barrel discovery had been made.
In August this year, wire reports said both countries tentatively reached a settlement hopefully to bring an end to the maritime border dispute which has halted oil exploration off Borneo island for four years.
However, an official proposal has not yet been made public.
The Brunei Times
Thus said Greg Hill, executive vice president of Shell Exploration Production Asia-Pacific, who noted that energy demand will double in 25 years time.
"Easy oil is running out, we are struggling to keep up with demand," he said during the maiden session of the Energy Week Symposium yesterday.
"Today, coal, oil and gas account for 80 per cent of the global energy demand. It will still be 80 per cent in the future," he said, explaining that the world population is expected to grow to nine billion by 2050 and the average wealth will more than quadruple, leading to the expedited demand.
Investing in exploration technology is costly, Brunei is already ingraining certain technologies in order to pump oil from the earth. With time, Brunei will need more advanced technology such as deep-sea drilling as oil and gas become harder to come by.
Operational cost for one oil rig is estimated at US$300,000 a day, said Hj Mohammad Anas Hj Abd Latif from the Petroleum Unit of the Prime Minister's Office.
Despite the heavy expense, it is necessary to invest in exploring technology as "resources have no value if it stays in the ground," he said.
The maritime border dispute began in 2003 when both Malaysia awarded exploration contracts to independent US oil companies. The year before Brunei also awarded contracts to a consortium of foreign companies for the same blocks north-west off the Borneo Island.
The area is relatively near to where a 440-million-barrel discovery had been made.
In August this year, wire reports said both countries tentatively reached a settlement hopefully to bring an end to the maritime border dispute which has halted oil exploration off Borneo island for four years.
However, an official proposal has not yet been made public.
The Brunei Times
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