Malaysia’s Petronas Carigali and Thailand’s PTTEP have signed a new 35-year production sharing contract (PSC) for Block A-18-01 in the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (MTJDA), it is reported. The contract takes effect from January 1, 2026, and was officially announced on September 14, 2026.
The new agreement consolidates the existing A-18 block (set to expire April 20, 2029) with an adjacent exploration area into a new 35-year PSC. Petronas Carigali (PC JDA) and PTTEP (JDX Thailand) each hold a 50% stake, and a Gas Sales Agreement (GSA) between Petronas and PTT (Thailand’s national oil and gas company) was reportedly signed concurrently. The gas fields covered include a number of existing producing fields such as Cakerawala, Bumi, Suriya, Bulan, South Bulan, Senja, East Bumi, Samudra and Wira.
The combined natural gas production capacity of the entire MTJDA (Block A-18-01 plus Block B-17-01) is reported at approximately 700 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), with the volume reportedly split evenly between Malaysia and Thailand. The contract took effect on January 1, 2026, and was announced on September 14, 2026.
Malaysia and Thailand have jointly developed and operated gas fields since establishing the MTJDA in 1979, and this new long-term PSC can be seen as a move to secure production continuity ahead of the expiration of the existing block.
The MTJDA model, in which two neighboring Southeast Asian countries establish a joint development area and jointly operate gas fields over a long period, is regarded as a reference case of cooperation applicable to other regions facing similar maritime boundary disputes or resource-sharing issues. Renewing the contract for a long 35-year term several years ahead of the existing block’s expiration suggests that the two countries’ national energy companies regard gas production in this area as a stable, long-term asset. Signing a Gas Sales Agreement (GSA) concurrently with the PSC can be seen as an approach to lock in both production and sales at once, minimizing the project’s commercial uncertainty. Managing multiple existing producing gas fields under a single integrated contract improves operational efficiency and reduces administrative and regulatory costs, suggesting more similar block consolidation and re-contracting cases could emerge across Southeast Asia’s many mature gas fields. Continued cooperation between the national energy companies of Malaysia and Thailand can also be read as a stabilizing signal for regional energy security.
How specific plans to maintain or increase production from the existing gas fields will be established following the new 35-year PSC is the first point to confirm. Whether additional exploration and development investment will follow in the consolidated A-18-01 and B-17-01 blocks, and whether this could expand production capacity beyond the current approximately 700 MMscfd, is also worth watching. In addition, whether the actual gas sales price and volume allocation terms under this GSA will be disclosed going forward, and whether this model will be similarly applied to other joint development areas in Southeast Asia, also bear watching.