Malaysia awards two oil blocks for exploration

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Malaysia has awarded two oil blocks off the coast of Borneo island to a consortium of Canadian oil firm Talisman Energy Inc (TLM.TO) and Petronas Carigali, the exploration and production arm of its state oil firm.

The total investment to be commited for exploring the two blocks is $192 million, state oil firm Petronas [PETR.UL] said on Monday, but gave no timeframe for the investment.

"Previous exploration efforts were confined to the shallower sections in the blocks while the deeper sections remain mostly underexplored," Petronas said in a statement, referring to blocks SB309 and SB310 on eastern Sabah state in Borneo.

Talisman's Malaysia unit will have a participating interest of 70 percent in both the blocks and Petronas Carigali holds the rest.

The move comes as the Southeast Asian country tries to stem slowing production. Malaysia is a net oil exporter of crude oil but Petronas has warned it could turn into an importer as production from ageing oilfields slows and domestic demand grows. (Reporting by Niluksi Koswanage; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)