KOTA KINABALU: State-owned SMJ Energy (SMJESB) has signed a second deal to take a stake of up to 20% in an offshore oil exploration area in northern Sabah.
In a statement on Tuesday (Jan 23), the company said a letter of understanding was signed for the production sharing contract with PETRONAS Carigali (PCSB) and E&P Malaysia Venture (EPMV), which offers the state oil and gas company up to 20% participating interest in Block SB403 PSC under a back-in option that is exercisable upon completion of work commitment or commercial discovery, whichever is earlier.
Under the deal, SMJESB has the opportunity to access and review the information and data obtained from exploration work before deciding if it would accept the option.
This allows the company to manage exploration risk and keep it to a minimum, the statement added.
Located north of Sabah and covering a 10,256sq-km area, Block SB403 was awarded to PCSB and EPMV by national oil company PETRONAS during the 2023 Malaysia Bidding Round (MBR).
The letter was signed by SMJESB executive director for upstream Albert Lo, PCSB chief executive officer Hasliza Othman and EPMV head Aliff Anwar at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
This is SMJESB’s second exploration deal with PCSB and EPMV through the same option.
The first back-in option was signed on Feb 15 last year for Block SB409 PSC, another offshore area of Sabah covering an area of 14,556sq-km.
SMJESB also has a 50% stake in the Samarang PSC, a 25% share in the Sabah Ammonia and Urea Plant, and a 10% stake in Petronas LNG9, which operates a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant within the Bintulu LNG complex.
