KUALA LUMPUR: The Economy Ministry will continue working with the oil and gas services and equipment (OGSE) sector development agency, the Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC), to align its initiatives with government policies and the sector's needs.
The ministry's deputy secretary-general (macro) Datuk Luqman Ahmad said the approach aims to bridge government aspirations with industry requirements.
"Through this approach, we aim to ensure a holistic response to Malaysia's energy transition and economic growth journey.
"I also call on industry players to take heed of the various government support and services available through MPRC to boost your business and transition to the low carbon era," he said at the National OGSE Blueprint Forum 2024 here today.
He delivered the keynote address on behalf of the ministry's secretary general Datuk Nor Azmie Diron.
According to Luqman, the oil and gas (O&G) industry has been a cornerstone of Malaysia's economy, contributing greatly to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), job creation, and infrastructure development.
He noted that the OGSE sector, in particular, supports the entire value chain of the O&G industry, ensuring its efficiency and sustainability.
He said amid Malaysia's energy transition, the OGSE sector serves as a crucial enabler in preparing the O&G and energy ecosystem to decarbonise.
He added that several existing policies aimed at boosting the OGSE sector will send a clear signal to the business and investment communities about Malaysia's direction and our intended path forward.
The policies also set the tone for the development of a conducive ecosystem to manage Malaysia's transition to a low-carbon economy.
"This, in turn, aims to address companies' needs in planning their resources and identifying opportunities for growth.
"Nonetheless, the government is cognisant that in order to achieve visible results, policies must be accompanied by tangible initiatives which spur spillover impacts that can be scaled up and create transformative and sustainable outcomes for the economy," he said.
The OGSE Blueprint was launched back in April 2021 to strengthen the competitiveness, resilience and sustainability of Malaysia's OGSE sector in line with national development goals.
MPRC president and chief executive officer Mohd Yazid Ja'afar said it is essential to reflect on the progress of the OGSE Blueprint thus far and to consider the future of Malaysia's OGSE sector, especially as the blueprint reaches its midway point.
He noted that this comes at a critical moment, where Malaysia is reimagining its growth story to reclaim its status as a regional economic leader; the world is facing the challenges of climate change; and the energy transition is presenting both opportunities and challenges that are still being fully understood.
"These are but a few of the significant trends that the OGSE sector must come to grips with, not to mention that these trends are indicating that the old ways of doing business may not apply.
"This is at a time when the sector is just getting back on its feet from the 2014 oil price crash and then the Covid-19 crisis," he said.