THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Petronas, Shell Find Gas Offshore Peninsular Malaysia: "...a 50:50 joint venture between Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD) and Malaysia's state-owned Petronas (PET.YY), has struck natural gas offshore Peninsula Malaysia. (ShellNews.net) Posted 9 Feb 05

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

KUALA LUMPUR -- CS Mutiara Petroleum Sdn. Bhd., a 50:50 joint venture between Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD) and Malaysia's state-owned Petronas (PET.YY), has struck natural gas offshore Peninsula Malaysia.

The company's Bunga Anggerik-1 exploration well has found four gas zones, CS Mutiara said in a statement Tuesday.

The well was drilled to a depth of 1,527 meters, and further technical evaluation of the findings is needed, the company said.

Bunga Anggerik-1 is the third gas discovery in Block PM301, following recent discoveries in the Bunga Kamelia and Bunga Zetung gas fields, CS Mutiara said.

"CS Mutiara is currently embarking on an appraisal campaign and studies for the development of these discoveries," the company said.

CS Mutiara operates Blocks PM301 and PM302 gas fields, both located off the northeastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

-By Joseph Edwin, Dow Jones Newswires; 603 2692 5254; joe.edwin@dowjones.com

-Edited by Ryan Woo