Petronas signs PSCs, attracting RM600mil exploration activities

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has signed Production sharing contracts (PSCs) for five offshore exploration blocks, enabling the state-owned oil and gas firm to attract a capital commitment of about RM600 million in exploration activities in Malaysia.

This will reflect the the attractiveness of the country’s hydrocarbon resources potential, Petronas senior vice-president of Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM) Mohamed Firouz Asnan said in a statement after signing the PSCs on behalf of the company.

"The reduction in global exploration drilling over the past two years has pressured the industry to resolve current supply shortages. As global economies have started to recover post-pandemic, the industry needs to ensure exploration activities continue to sustain production.

"Petronas is committed to reducing carbon emissions from our operations with technologies such as carbon capture and storage,” he said, adding that Petronas looks forward to working together with its partners to provide safe and reliable energy to the market.

Among the offshore exploration blocks include SB412, 2W and X off the coast of Sabah, and SK439/SK440 off the coast of Sarawak.

Block SB412 in Sabah was signed between Petronas, PTTEP HK Offshore Limited and SapuraOMV Upstream (M) Sdn Bhd, while the PSCs for ultra-deepwater Blocks 2W and X were signed between Petronas, Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd., Shell Sabah Selatan Sdn Bhd, and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd.

The signing ceremony of the PSCs under the the Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2021 took place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here on Tuesday.

The MBR is an annual Malaysia licensing round hosted by MPM which offers investors diverse upstream opportunities, including exploration acreages, discovered resource opportunities and late life producing assets.

The MBR 2022 themed "Your Advantaged Energy is Here” was launched on 27 January, offering 14 exploration blocks, six clusters of Discovered Resource Opportunities and one Late Life Asset cluster.

The state-owned oil and gas firm, through MPM, manages petroleum arrangements in Malaysia and provides stewardship on upstream petroleum activities. - Bernama