Oil and gas industry boosting country’s coffers

PETALING JAYA: The oil and gas industry contributed 14.5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 14.7% to the Government’s revenue last year.

The National Transformation Programme Annual Report 2016 said the National Key Economic Area (NKEA) contributed RM179.9bil in gross national income (GNI) and generated RM411.5bil in investments last year.

“The success is reflected upon Petronas’ adoption of a prudent stance in evaluating projects.

“As the main driver of upstream-related activities, the national oil company has placed more focus on cost control to determine project viability,” it said.

The report said the Government was committed to creating an efficient gas market in order to provide consumers with a competitive choice of the source of their supply.

“Petronas has been the sole supplier of gas in the market. With the Third Party Access (TPA), other suppliers can join the gas market and supply gas at competitive prices,” said the report.

The other main targets of liberalising the gas market were to introduce market pricing for gas to attract new industry players, promote sustainable use of energy and encourage more efficient use of resources.

It said that in the move to diversify the oil and gas sector, the Government created world-class facilities such as the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) in Kota Tinggi, Johor.

“To further support private investment in the complex, the Federal Government with the Johor government has planned for 25 critical PIPC infrastructure projects worth an estimated RM2.49bil as part of the 10th and 11th Malaysia Plans to meet the need for utilities,” said the report.

On the Government’s effort to improve sustainability of palm oil and rubber, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said that in 2016, a total of 122,521ha and seven palm oil mills were certified, and a substantial pipeline was built for certification this year.

“Under the 11th Malaysia Plan, RM280mil worth of grants have been allocated to support these initiatives,” he said.

Mah added that focus under the Rubber NKEA was to increase demand and the quality of the supply.

“This was undertaken in collaboration with stakeholders in the public and domestic sectors to create demand-driven growth,” he said.

Last year, 33 cooperatives with a membership of 2,800 have been established, surpassing the annual target of 47,766 tonnes of fresh fruit bunch with an estimated value of RM21mil.