Malaysia delays Sabah oil terminal start 3 mths-sources

SINGAPORE, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Malaysian state firm Petronas has postponed the start of operations at a floating oil and gas production facility in Sabah by at least three months due to a technical issue, industry sources said on Tuesday.

The Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal in Kimanis bay is key in the country's plan to boost its crude production and exports from several deepwater oilfields in east Malaysia, but the project has been dogged by construction and technical issues.

The terminal was scheduled to start operations in the first quarter, but it may now export crude only in June or in the second half of the year, the sources said.

Petronas could not be immediately reached for comment.

The terminal can handle up to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and 1.0 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day, according to Petronas' website.

It will initially export the 25,000 barrels per day (bpd) output from the Gumusut-Kakap field and the volume will increase to 70,000 bpd a year later, a source with knowledge of the matter said.

Much of Malaysia's added oil output will come from the Gumusut-Kakap and Malikai fields offshore Sabah operated by Royal Dutch Shell.