POSCO International will explore an offshore gas field in Malaysia to create a second success story following its jackpot in Myanmar.

The company announced on Aug. 10 that it has won the operation right of the PM524 mining district in the eastern sea of the Malay Peninsula from Petronas, Malaysia's state-run oil company, in an international tender.

POSCO International will sign a product sharing contract with Petronas within 2021 and conduct exploration and operation activities for four years. It will carry out the project in partnership with Petronas Carigali, a wholly owned E&P subsidiary of Petronas. POSCO International will have a 80 percent stake in the project with the Malaysian partner owning the remaining 20 percent.

Petronas is 100 percent owned by the Malaysian government. It oversees all matters related to the oil and gas industry in Malaysia, ranging from oil and natural gas mining rights, oil and gas exploration, production, transportation and sales to oil refining, petrochemical and eco-friendly energy businesses.

The PM524 mining district is located in the lower sea area, 50 to 80 meters deep in the eastern sea off the Malay Peninsula. It occupies an area of 4,738 square kilometers. POSCO International reviewed 3D artificial seismic wave and drilling data on the mining district and found a number of promising structures that are highly likely to have gas.

In particular, inside the PM524 minining district is the Tanga Barat gas field, where Petronas is producing gas. When POSCO International succeeds in finding a gas field in the PM524 mining district, it may seek to develop it in connection with the Tanga Barat gas field.