2 months ago
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SINGAPORE: Sarawak’s Premier Abang Johari Openg said that the state has the power to make decisions over the distribution of oil and gas resources within its territory.
This comes about a week after the Malaysian government signalled that national oil corporation Petronas will remain the sole guardian of the country’s oil and gas reserves - including in the Borneo state.
While Sarawak “accepts” Malaysia’s Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974 - which stipulates that Petronas has exclusive control over exploration and distribution of the country’s oil and gas resources in Malaysia - Abang Johari emphasised that the Borneo state “must have a say”.
“That’s why we formed Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) and Petros will work together with Petronas … And we have a say in the distribution of gas,” he was quoted as saying by The Borneo Post in an interview on the sidelines of a public lecture at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute on Monday (Feb 10).
“Lately, Prime Minister of Malaysia (Anwar Ibrahim) has agreed that Petros is to be the aggregator of gas (in Sarawak).”
In a meeting between the two on Jan 7, Anwar had said that while Petros had authority as a gas aggregator, both the firm and the Sarawak government had agreed that it would not interfere with Petronas’ role and operations under the PDA, state news agency Bernama reported.
In a parliamentary reply on Feb 4, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said said that Petronas’ recognition of Sarawak government-owned Petros as the state’s gas aggregator excludes liquified natural gas (LNG).
This marked a huge setback for Sarawak in its bid for more control over its natural resources.
CNA reported earlier that Azalina’s statement has caused unease with Abang Johari, who has in turn asked Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof to deal with the situation at the federal government level.
Sarawak, which has long pushed for greater control over its hydrocarbon resources, has been locked in months of hardball negotiations with the Malaysian government and Petronas over the national oil giant’s monopoly of the country’s oil and gas reserves as enshrined under the PDA.
Petronas and Petros have been in talks since July last year to resolve the disputes. Prior to that, Sarawak had appointed Petros as the state’s sole gas aggregator under its Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016 in February 2024.
Under Sarawak’s state laws, a gas aggregator procures natural gas for distribution or supply, and develops and maintains the state’s gas distribution network. This move has been said to have directly challenged the authority long held by Petronas.
In her written parliamentary reply last week, Azalina said that based on the agreement between Anwar and Abang Johari, Petronas and its subsidiaries are not required to obtain a licence or comply with additional procedures to conduct petroleum operations in Sarawak beyond what is outlined in the PDA 1974.
The eastern state holds about 60 per cent of Malaysia’s gas reserves and contributes almost 90 per cent of Malaysia’s LNG exports.
ON SINGAPORE-SARAWAK RELATIONS
Meanwhile, Abang Johari also highlighted that the construction method for the 1,000-megawatt undersea electricity transmission project from Sarawak to Singapore is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of the year.
“I anticipate that these discussions will be concluded within the first quarter of this year, followed by the potential signing of an agreement between Malaysia and Singapore,” he said, as reported by Sarawak Public Communications Unit and Bernama.
He added that the matter was discussed during a bilateral meeting chaired by Anwar and his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong.
Abang Johari also held a meeting with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in which they discussed the establishment of a Singapore Consulate-General office in Kuching, Sarawak, Bernama reported.
“We discussed ways for Singapore and Sarawak to work closely together on energy, the green and digital economy, sustainability and strengthening people-to-people ties,” Vivian said in an Instagram post on Monday.
According to Bernama, Abang Johari had previously stated that the setting up of the Consulate-General office in Kuching was agreed during the 10th Malaysia-Singapore Annual Leaders’ Retreat in 2023.
“The state secretary will identify a location,” he said on Monday, as quoted by Bernama.
