Shell, Petronas begin working on Borollos gas field 9B

Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas have begun working on phase 9B of the Borollos gas field, an unnamed EGAS official tells Al Shorouk. The USD 950 mn project involves drilling eight new wells with a daily capacity of 387 mcf. BG, since acquired by Shell, had suspended work on phase 9A+ and 9B of the gas field last March after the government rejected paying USD 7 per mmBtu for phase 9B, and eventually reached an agreement with the government to maintain a price cap of USD 5.88 per mmBtu for gas from the phase. Work on the gas field later stalled as the state fell behind on payments to Shell and BG, but Shell ultimately ramped-up exploration and drilling activity on the back of promising data. As we reported last week, the government is reportedly gearing up to repay USD 500 mn-1 bn to IOCs including Shell.