A 547km² expansion will lift Seascape Energy's Temaris Cluster Small Field Asset PSC offshore Peninsular Malaysia to roughly 1,770km², from around 1,200km² today. Petronas, through Malaysia Petroleum Management, has issued the letter of agreement. Final documentation remains outstanding, which is the polite way of saying the ink is not yet dry.

The new acreage sits north and east of the existing contract area, in roughly 70m of water on the western flank of the Malay basin. It covers part of the Miocene channelised sandstone system tied to the Temaris play. Seascape holds a 100% interest in the PSC.

What does the agreement change?

The enlargement brings the wider gas play under a single PSC, with all resources subject to the same Small Field Asset fiscal terms. That is the practical benefit: one contract, one fiscal regime, one operator. Seascape said the new acreage could materially increase exploration potential.

The company has commissioned Sproule ERCE to revise its earlier competent person's report. That report identified 950 billion cubic feet of gross mean prospective resources across several horizons and trap types in the original PSC area. Seascape has previously cited approximately 1tcf of net mean prospective resources on Temaris, and said the extension has the potential to double that figure. The updated report is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

For scale, 1tcf of gas is roughly enough to supply a mid-sized Asian LNG export train feedstock for a year or two, so a doubled resource base would move Temaris from interesting to material.

Seismic first, drilling later

Petronas plans to shoot new 3D seismic across the extension as part of a regional programme in late 2026. The data will be made available to Seascape. The company said it could help assess a possible continuation of the Mengkuang discovery, identified from legacy 2D seismic data and estimated at 29 billion standard cubic feet of 2C resources.

The additional work programme includes:

• Processing the new 3D seismic data
• Drilling one contingent exploration well
• Funding of the firm commitment from existing cash resources

The contingent well is exactly that — contingent. Appraisal-stage work, not a sanctioned project.

A short history and a partner hunt

Malaysia awarded Temaris to Seascape in June 2025 under the Discovered Resource Opportunity element of Malaysian Bid Round 2025. The shallow-water block already contains the Tembakau and Mengkuang gas discoveries. A subsurface review and 3D reprocessing using full waveform inversion identified channel features across multiple horizons in the extended area.

Seascape has resumed its search for a strategic partner after pausing the process during extension talks. It aims to bring in a partner before submitting its field development plan in late Q4 2026.

Seascape Malaysia country chair and executive director Pierre Eliet said: "This is a welcome portfolio addition at a time when macro events are leading the industry to rethink its strategic priorities."

He added: "The value of Asian gas into Asian markets is starting to become clear, and the attractions of scarce, high-quality exploration opportunities in stable jurisdictions with strong, high-growth, high-demand markets is becoming very apparent."

Asia supplying gas to Asia. The observation has the virtue of being both obvious and correct.

Separately, in July 2026, Petronas reported two new hydrocarbon discoveries and a successful appraisal well through its fully owned subsidiary Petronas Suriname in offshore Block 52, Suriname.

The watch item

Two dates govern this story: the revised Sproule ERCE resource report and the partner introduction, both pencilled for late 2026, ahead of the field development plan submission. Until the CPR lands, the doubled resource figure is company commentary, not audit.

By Daniel Okafor