KUCHING: Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) will develop another well in its Adong Kechil West field near the Baram riverine town of Marudi by the middle of next year, says Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
Marudi is about 70km from the oil and gas hub of Miri.
In his address at Sarawak Governor Tun Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar's 80th birthday parade at Padang Merdeka on Saturday (Oct 10), Abang Johari said the well will supply gas to the Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power station in Lutong, Miri.
He added that the state-owned oil and gas company will also drill another exploration well in Kuala Baram which "holds encouraging potential for gas production".
"Onshore oil drilling efforts in Sarawak have shown encouraging potential," he said, adding that oil production at Adong Kechil West stands at 800 barrels per day.
That, he pointed out, is equivalent to a modest RM8mil per month to the state's coffers based on current prices, representing RM96mil per year from a single well.
Petros, with the concession block operator Petra Energy, officially achieved first oil in Block SK433 of the Adong Kechil West field in July.
That marked Sarawak's first onshore oil production in over 50 years.
The Sarawak government awarded concession for Block SK433 to Petros in July 2021 but spudding and onshore drilling operations only commenced in October 2023.
The revival of onshore exploration and extraction marks a return of commercial production directly to the Miri area – the birthplace of Malaysia's oil industry.
Abang Johari also said the restructuring of Sarawak's economic base, from commodities to one exploiting the state's rich natural resources, particularly oil, gas and water, has made it an attractive place for foreign investors.
He said investors' continuous confidence in the state's economic potential is amplified by the RM11.2bil in approved investments recorded in the first half of this year.
The Premier also disclosed that in Bangkok last month, two groups of investors based in Thailand and Japan "are very interested to invest up to RM1bil to produce petrochemical products".
"These investors recognise Sarawak's strengths in low-carbon energy and the state's oil and gas resources."
To ensure these investments have a trickle-down effect that benefits Sarawak as a whole, Abang Johari said they must be linked with local companies in engineering, maintenance, logistics, technology, manufacturing and professional services to generate the local economy.
"I am very confident that if this strength in natural resources and energy is combined with technology, research, innovation and expertise—with an emphasis on human resource development and environmental sustainability—Sarawak will emerge as a new economic powerhouse in the region by 2030," Abang Johari said.
