(AFP) - Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) today said its joint Angsi exploration field in the South China Sea produced its first oil and gas last week, six months ahead of schedule.

The Angsi field is being jointly developed by Petronas unit, Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd and ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc.

Petronas said in a statement the field began with an initial flow of 15,000 barrels per day (bpd), while its gas production started at about 60 million standard cubic feet per day.

At its peak, the field is expected to produce about 65,000 bpd and 450 million standard cubic feet per day of gas, which is equivalent to 10 percent and 17 percent respectively of the country's current total oil and gas production.

"The first oil and gas from Angsi field marks a major milestone in the overall development of gas in the country," it said.

Net importer in 2008

Nevertheless, Malaysia is expected to become a net importer of crude oil from 2008 when annual consumption exceeds output, the government said early December.

At the start of this year Malaysia had net reserves of 3.39 billion barrels of crude oil while natural gas reserves stood at 82.52 trillion cubic feet.

The oil reserves could last for another 16 years at the current production rate of 650,000 bpd.