Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said Thursday about $5.2 billion will be invested in its North Malay Basin project off the east coast over the next five years.
The money will be invested equally by two production sharing contractors -- Petronas Carigali, a unit of Petronas, and Hess Exploration and Production Malaysia, according to a Petronas spokesman.
"The project will commercialise around 1.7 standard trillion cubic feet of gas reserves from the area," the company said in a statement.
The project is part of Petronas' overall efforts to enhance the security of gas supplies in the Southeast Asian country.
Petronas signed the agreement with the two partners on Wednesday. The project to begin in 2013 will involve the development and commercialisation of nine gas fields in the basin and a new gas gathering, processing and transportation hub.
