Swedish energy company Lundin Petroleum declared victory Tuesday after announcing its first volumes of oil produced from a field off the coast of Malaysia.
Lundin announced its Malaysian subsidiary started commercial production from the Bertam field using four pre-drilled development wells. Peak production of 15,000 barrels of oil per day is expected by late 2015.
"Bertam is our first development project in Malaysia and as such we are very pleased to have achieved first oil safely, on schedule and within budget," Lundin President and Chief Executive Officer Ashley Heppenstall said in a statement.
Lundin is among those in the industry trimming its capital expenditures as oil prices continue to fall, cutting spending for 2015 by 31 percent from last year.
Lundin said that, combined, its total spending for development, appraisal and exploration for 2015 would total around $1.45 billion. The company in January set aside a sizable portion of its capital expenditures for operations in Malaysia.
The company said Bertram development carried a $400 million price tag. Lundin serves as the operator with a controlling interest in the project alongside Malaysia's state-controlled energy company PETRONAS.
