KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC) has surpassed its target of RM650 million and brought in RM683.7 million worth of oil and gas services and equipment (OGSE) investments last year.
The governing body said it remained on track in its efforts to strengthen the OGSE industry in order to develop greater resilience and global competitiveness.
Last year, MPRC facilitated the establishment of regional headquarters for three OGSE multinational companies (MNCs) in Malaysia and assisted nine OGSE companies to bid for oil and gas (O&G) projects in six countries.
MPRC’s Corporate Report 2016, which was published on June 1, also highlighted the efforts to spur innovation and technology development across Malaysia’s OGSE supply chain.
Leveraging its industry-academia platform via the O&G Innovation and Technology Clusters, MPRC facilitated five technology development projects in subsurface technologies, marine systems and topside engineering last year.
“MPRC has been driving important initiatives to ensure we can achieve the vision of establishing Malaysia as the OGSE hub for Asia Pacific,” said MPRC chairman Datuk Seri Idris Jala.
The three MNCs that MPRC assisted in establishing their regional headquarters locally are McDermott International, Fulkrum Technical Resources and WEG Southeast Asia, who relocated to Malaysia due to the value of the country as the preferred OGSE centre for Asia Pacific.
As of end-2016, a total of 18 MNCs had moved to Malaysia to better serve OGSE requirements in this region.
”During the year, MPRC also facilitated nine OGSE companies’ ventures into new export markets while also strengthening international linkages that will benefit the industry at large,” said Idris Jala, adding that the agency helped drive collaboration between domestic OGSE companies and the academia in developing innovative solutions for the O&G value chain in the Asia Pacific.
“Beyond its achievements last year, there remains much work to be done in improving the industry,” said MPRC president and chief executive officer Datuk Shahrol Halmi.
“The current downturn could mean a period of extraordinary change and as such, boosting the competitiveness of our players in a constantly evolving landscape is crucial.
“That is why this period is an opportune time to address systemic issues within the industry, push for collaboration among the OGSE players and support those that bring game-changing solutions or distinctive technologies,” he added.
Shahrol said MPRC would step up efforts to catalyse and spur the country’s OGSE development over the next two years.
These include attracting the top 50 OGSE MNCs to establish their regional headquarters, leveraging on key trade shows to elevate Malaysia’s appeal as the gateway to OGSE opportunities in the Asia Pacific and spurring local technology development via industry-academia collaboration in subsurface technologies, marine systems and topside engineering.
“In order to drive further growth, MPRC will continue to work closely with Petroliam Nasional Bhd on structural reforms to build a more competitive OGSE industry,” he added.