Industry sources say Kikeh has estimated production levels of around 100,000 barrels per day of crude with gas being re-injected into the field.

Engineering firms, MMC Oil & Engineering Sdn Bhd, EPCC specialist JP Kenny and US deep sea exploration and drilling company Mustang Engineering have been taken on by Murphy to design the facility that can handle the deep water drilling that is required. The proposal, which is apparently at a conceptual stage, will compromise of a DTU and a FPSO.

None of the parties involved - Murphy, MMC, JP Kenny or Mustang - was available for comment. However, a press release on Mustang's official website revealed that under a contract agreement signed last year, JP Kenny's Kuala Lumpur office will provide "local infrastructure knowledge and liaison" while J P Kenny's and Mustang's Houston offices will contribute subsea, floating systems and topsides expertise to the project.