KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Ltd (SSPC) has awarded two separate asset operations contracts to two companies based in Sabah namely Neopetro Sdn Bhd and SAZMA Aviation.
SSPC's contract with Neopetro involves provision of accommodation vessels to house over 500 personnel during Gumusut-Kakap platform's turnaround campaign this year.
With SAZMA Aviation, SSPC signed a contract for the provision of offshore helicopter services to transport personnel to and from offshore locations.
SAZMA Aviation is a subsidiary of Sabah Air Aviation Sdn Bhd, a government-link company under Sabah Ministry of Finance.
Both contracts were signed by SSPC general manager Wong Kim Mun during the opening ceremony of the Sabah Oil, Gas & Energy Conference and Exhibition (SOGCE) in Kota Kinabalu.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Sabah Minister of Finance and chairman of state-owned SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun together with Shell Malaysia chair and senior vice president of upstream Siti Sulaiman.
"Today's contract signing ceremony demonstrates Shell's commitment in contributing towards the socio-economic development of Sabah while attesting that our local companies have what it takes to compete in the Oil & Gas Services and Equipment (OGSE) industry.
"Sabahan companies saw a 40 per cent increase in revenue from OGSE-related jobs from 2022 to 2023, and we aim to achieve an 80 per cent Sabahan employment rate within the OGSE industry for the year.
"This requires concerted efforts between the Sabah government, OGSE stakeholders and contractors, and both state and private agencies," said Masidi.
Meanwhile, Siti said these contracts marked a significant milestone in the company's intent to further develop and support local Sabahan contractors through a collaborative, long-term approach that drives improvements and capability development in the local energy industry.