KUALA LUMPUR: National oil corporation Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is prepared to work with state entities to develop oil and gas (O&G) resources, provided it is based on the regulatory framework.
Sarawak last year set up Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros) to venture into upstream O&G activities. Sabah also has a similar state-owned entity, Sabah International Petroleum Bhd, which was set up in 2014.
“For us there is no problem as long as the current framework with the Petroleum Development Act is in place. We would like to work with Petros if they want to be a service provider or PSC (production sharing contract) contractor,” Petronas president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin said at a briefing recently.
He said the nature of Petronas’ collaboration with state O&G entities would have to be resolved between the federal and state governments.
Earlier, Wan Zulkiflee highlighted Malaysia’s unique advantage of having a single point of contact for foreign investors when it comes to the development of its O&G resources.
“Our regulatory environment is very special. Petronas is the single point of contact for any foreign company. If we go to other countries, the point of contact is not always consistent.
“There can be misalignment in terms of what the ministry wants, what the regulator wants, etc. We don’t have that in Malaysia. I can say this because we are involved in many, many countries,” he said.
Wan Zulkiflee said the Malaysian Petroleum Management unit in Petronas, headed by Muhammad Zamri Jusoh, can help investors on a wide range of matters including their development plans, securing rigs, operational problems and audit.
“Very few regulators have the experience of a contractor. Zamri and his team have hands-on practical experience as a contractor. I think this is one of the unique value propositions that we have in terms of ease of doing business in Malaysia,” he added.