ExxonMobil Corp said it was starting the construction of a natural gas compression platform in Malaysia as part of its plan to build an offshore gas production hub in the Southeast Asian country.

The Guntong E platform, which will consist of an eight-leg jacket and modules for gas receiving, separation, dehydration and compression, is expected to start operations in 2006, ExxonMobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil firm, said in a statement.
Upon operation, three large turbine-driven compressor trains will handle 540 million cubic feet (15.29 million cu metres) of gas and 30,000 barrels of condensate per day, said the US company, which holds a gas production-sharing contract with Malaysian state oil firm Petronas.
Guntong E is the first phase of the Guntong Hub development plan, which will involve new drill wells, further production from existing wells, satellite platforms, inter-field pipelines and retrofitting of existing platforms, it said.
The Guntong Hub is expected to process four trillion cubic feet of gas for sale in Peninsular Malaysia, the statement said.
Guntong E, which will be located about 130 miles (210 km) off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is scheduled to be fabricated in Malaysia and installed offshore by the third quarter of 2005, it said.
Production will flow to shore using existing pipelines.
ExxonMobil, through its subsidiary ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc, is the largest oil producer in Malaysia and the largest supplier of gas to Peninsular Malaysia.
In 2003, it produced about 270,000 barrels of liquids and 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day in Malaysia.