Malaysia's Petronas makes 3rd gas find off Sarawak's Balingian province

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's state oil firm Petronas has made a new gas discovery at the Hadrah-1 wildcat exploration well off the coast of Sarawak state, the firm said on Friday.

The discovery by subsidiary Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd was made at Block SK411k located in the shallow waters of Balingian Province.

Petronas said Hadrah-1 is the company's third gas discovery in this province, after Sirung-1 and Kulintang-1 in March and May respectively.

The Hadrah-1 well was successfully drilled to a total depth of 1,850 metres (6,069.55 ft) in November and encountered gas within an approximately 200-metre thick sequence of high-quality sandstone and carbonate reservoirs, it said.

"The excellent quality of reservoirs encountered augurs the remaining potential in the surrounding areas, with (Petronas Carigali) well positioned to pursue the untapped similar plays in Blocks SK411 and SK306," said Emeliana Rice-Oxley, vice president of exploration and upstream at Petronas.

Petronas Carigali is the operator of the block, with a 90% stake along with E&P Malaysia Venture Sdn Bhd, holding 10%.

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Ed Davies)