(Alliance News) - Upland Resources Ltd on Friday said its local joint venture company Upland Big Oil Ventures Sdn Bhd met with the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam to discuss collaborating on oil block SK334, which is in the neighbouring Malaysian state of Sarawak.

The London-based oil and gas company, which has assets in Malaysia, Tunisia and the UK North Sea, said it met with the central regulatory authority regulating the Brunei oil and gas industry this week.

It also met with Brunei Energy Services & Trading, a subsidiary of the Brunei government-owned National Oil Co, over collaborating on the Sarawak oil asset.

Upland Resources said discussions focused on block SK334's prospectivity and development potential, as well as cross-border data sharing with other discoveries in Brunei. It said communications are set to continue "with a focus on this mutually beneficial opportunity and data sharing of nearby discovered resources".

The oil and gas industry is the main contributor to Brunei economic growth, Upland Resources noted, contributing a 49.6% share of the southeast Asian country's gross domestic product in 2021.

"We look forward to developing this relationship in Brunei further, block SK334 in Sarawak offers transformational potential, sedimentary basins in Sarawak and Brunei are proven prolific hydrocarbon bearing basins," said Upland Resources Chair & Chief Executive Officer Bolhassan Di.

"We are steadily building momentum into the next stage of development, final technical workshops and assessment of prospective resources."

Upland Resources said it will discuss further its outlined key areas of focus with the Petroleum Authority of Brunei Darussalam and Brunei Energy Services & Trading "in due course".

Separately, Upland Resources also noted a two-year extension for its UK North Sea P2478 Dunrobin prospect. "We are working closely with the joint venture partners to realise its inherent value," Di added.

Shares in Upland Resources were up 6.7% to 0.51 pence each in London after the Friday open. They had initially spiked to 0.59p.

By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter

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