Singapore-listed oil producer Valeura Energy Inc. has announced an exploration discovery at a new field it has named Suraphi, located approximately 4.5 kilometres northeast of its existing Manora A platform in the Gulf of Thailand, while also reporting a successful development and appraisal drilling programme at its Jasmine field that has lifted near-term production rates.

Discovery Wells Encounter Significant Net Pay

Valeura discovered the Suraphi field by drilling the Manora-9 open water exploration well and associated sidetracks on Block G1/48, where the company holds a 70 percent operated working interest. The operation targeted several prospects, each within a distinct fault block.

The E prospect identified multiple oil-bearing sandstone intervals within the 600-series lacustrine sands, intersecting oil over a gross column measuring 626 feet, with 162 feet of net oil pay.

The D prospect, drilled in an adjacent fault block, encountered a similar oil-bearing reservoir section within a gross column of 849 feet, delivering 172 feet of net oil pay.

A third sidetrack tested a shallower and higher-risk play that proved non-hydrocarbon-bearing, though the company said success in the D and E fault blocks has effectively de-risked a third adjacent fault block, designated F, which is well-imaged on 3D seismic data.

Valeura said its mapping, calibrated by pressure data collected during drilling, suggests evidence that all three fault blocks could be filled to their spill point, representing what the company described as a best case scenario for the discovery.

Even measured conservatively, taking into account only the deepest oil demonstrated in the wells, the company said the discovery would likely still justify a satellite facility development on the block.

Plans for Satellite Development and Malida Appraisal

Valeura said it is moving immediately into a development planning phase to establish a plan to maximise the value of the discovery and provide scope for future development in the vicinity.

The company believes an additional satellite platform to develop the Suraphi field also creates an opportunity to develop the otherwise-stranded Malida field, located 3.5 kilometres to the east.

Concurrent with development planning, the company said it will conduct studies to plan for appraisal of the Malida field and to re-evaluate nearby exploration prospects for inclusion in future drilling campaigns.

The company noted that by creating a satellite facility tied into the Manora wellhead and processing platform, it anticipates an extension to the productive life of the Manora field, adding tail oil production that would otherwise be considered uneconomic.

The discovery of a thicker than expected reservoir interval and evidence of oil migration into the area also de-risks a number of nearby exploration prospects, the company said, adding to the total potential magnitude of the discovery.

President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sean Guest said the results for net pay encountered exceed the company's pre-drill estimates and are likely to justify a new satellite facility development on the block.

He described the discovery as a game-changer for Block G1/48, saying it would create a new lease on life for the greater Manora field area by utilising the existing Manora-A processing facility for more oil than the Manora field alone can supply.

Jasmine Campaign Adds Production and New Appraisal Targets

Prior to the Manora-9 well, Valeura completed a successful development and appraisal drilling campaign at its Jasmine field on Block B5/27, where it holds a 100 percent operated interest.

A total of four successful wellbores were completed across the operation, two on the Jasmine-C platform and two on the Jasmine-D platform. The four wells comprised two horizontal development wells and two dual-objective deviated wells drilled for both development and appraisal purposes.

Both of the multi-objective wells successfully appraised several new zones, which the company said will now be studied as potential future development candidates. Valeura recorded a net increase in the amount of organic investment opportunities at Jasmine as a result of the campaign.

The drilling programme produced an immediate uplift in production. Oil output rates increased from approximately 7,570 barrels per day before royalties in the seven-day period before the new wells were brought onstream, rising to approximately 8,250 barrels per day before royalties in the seven-day period after all wells were brought online.

Rig Transition Ahead of November Nong Yao Programme

Valeura said it will shortly demobilise the Borr Mist drilling rig and release it from its contract following the completion of the current campaign. The company intends to resume Gulf of Thailand drilling operations in early November 2026, when it begins its charter of the Shelf Drilling Enterprise rig.

That rig is initially scheduled to conduct a drilling programme on the company's Nong Yao field, located on Block G11/48, where Valeura holds a 90 percent operated working interest.

Dr. Guest said the company is facing an expanded set of organic investment opportunities as a result of the drilling successes, while at the same time continuing to pursue what he described as aggressive inorganic growth ambitions.

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