TotalEnergies is preparing to drill the Jambuk-1 ultra-deepwater wildcat well offshore Sabah, East Malaysia, targeting a large prospect on the same block where the Tepat oil and gas discovery was previously made, as the French major intensifies its commitment to what has become one of its most strategically significant exploration regions.
The well will be drilled in Block 2K, where TotalEnergies operates with a 34.9% participating interest alongside Petronas Carigali, which holds 40%, and Shell with the remaining 25.1%. The block covers an area of 1,952 square kilometres in water depths of up to 3,000 metres in the northwest ultra-deepwater area of Sabah, within a proven hydrocarbon basin along the Oligo-Miocene carbonate trend. Noble Corporation has been contracted to provide the drillship for the campaign.
The Jambuk-1 well is one of the highest-impact exploration tests currently being planned in Southeast Asia. TotalEnergies has described the prospect as large, with subsurface work building on the understanding gained from earlier wells in the area that proved the existence of the petroleum system and the subsequent Megah discovery in Block 3K offshore Sabah, which Petronas has identified as Malaysia’s largest find in over two decades with estimated reserves of 200 to 300 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Malaysia has become increasingly central to TotalEnergies’ upstream strategy. The company employs around 300 people in Malaysia and holds operated and non-operated interests in 17 offshore blocks off the coasts of Sarawak and Sabah. TotalEnergies became Malaysia’s third-largest gas producer following its acquisition of SapuraOMV Upstream, and the Jerun gas field in Sarawak is now on stream, providing a revenue-generating base from which the company is funding higher-risk deepwater exploration in Sabah and across the wider region.
In April 2026, TotalEnergies EP Malaysia managing director Jerome Saniez met Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and described the state as a strong next step for the company given its significant offshore potential, growing gas demand, investor-friendly policies and strong supply chain infrastructure. The Chief Minister confirmed that Sabah is actively seeking partners with deepwater exploration capability and technical expertise to unlock the basin’s full upstream potential.
TotalEnergies has also been actively managing its Malaysian portfolio in parallel with the exploration push. In July 2026 the company divested its 85% interest in Block 2E, representing an 8.5% net interest in the non-operated Marjoram gas field currently under development, to INPEX for $350 million, crystallising the value of a minority position to focus capital on its operated portfolio and the higher-potential deepwater Sabah blocks.
The broader Southeast Asia strategy pairs the revenue-generating operated gas position in Sarawak with higher-risk deepwater exploration bets in Sabah, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, where TotalEnergies and Petronas are also preparing to drill the high-impact Mailu-1 wildcat. The outcome of wells including Jambuk-1 will determine whether that regional exploration strategy can move from concept to commercial scale over the next two to three years.
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