Murphy Oil's Malaysia Assets Draw Interest from Mitsubishi, ONGC

Top Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp has submitted a non-binding bid to buy Murphy Oil Corp's Malaysian oil and gas assets valued at about $2.5 billion, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

India's state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corp and Oil India Ltd are among the other suitors preparing to submit bids for the Murphy assets, separate sources with direct knowledge of the process said.

Petronas tubuh dana awal bagi MH17, sumbang RM10 juta

Petronas telah menubuhkan dana awal berjumlah RM10 juta untuk membantu kerajaan memberikan sokongan kepada keluarga mereka yang berada dalam penerbangan malang, MH17.

Dalam satu kenyataan, syarikat minyak nasional itu juga menyeru semua syarikat perniagaan, baik di dalam mahupun di luar industri minyak dan gas menggembleng tenaga bagi dana yang diberi nama "Care for MH017" itu.

Pertanyaan berhubung dana itu boleh disalurkan melalui e-mel kepada careforMH017@petronas.com.my

Petronas berkata pengurusan dan kakitangannya amat sedih dengan tragedi itu dan menyampaikan ucapan takziah kepada keluarga dan rakan mereka yang berada dalam penerbangan itu.

Pesawat MH17 sedang dalam penerbangan dari Amsterdam ke Kuala Lumpur semasa ia terhempas di Ukraine. Ia membawa 298 orang, terdiri daripada 283 penumpang dan 15 anak kapal.

Sebelum ini, hari ini Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata pihak berkuasa Ukraine percaya pesawat Boeing 777 itu ditembak jatuh.

MH17 crash: Shell Malaysia employees were on board ill-fated flight

An undisclosed number of Shell Malaysia employees were on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which crashed in Ukraine on Thursday.

A company spokesman confirmed that company employees were on board the aircraft which was enroute to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam.

"After a review of traveler records and airline manifests, we now have confirmation from authorities and family members that Shell staff were aboard Malaysian Airlines flight 17," the spokesman said on Friday.

The spokesman added that Shell Malaysia was still working on a definitive list of employees and was unable to provide further information at the time.

Saddened by the loss of its employees, the company said it was rendering its support to the families of those who perished.

Flight MH17 disappeared from radar screens in eastern Ukraine at around 1415 GMT, hours after the Boeing 777, bound for Kuala Lumpur, had taken off from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

It is believed to have been accidentally shot down 50km from the Ukraine-Russia border.

All 298 passengers on board are believed to have perished.

The area is currently being held by pro-Russian separatists.

Exxon Mobil employee among 298 aboard flight MH17

American oil giant Exxon Mobil today confirmed that an employee from its subsidiary in Malaysia was one of the passengers onboard the ill-fated MH17 which crashed in Ukraine yesterday with 298 on board.

In an internal communication sent to all of its employees in Malaysia, the company said that 54-year-old Karamjit Singh, who was on a rotational assignment to Nigeria, had been on the flight.

"Karamjit was with the SHE Department before accepting a rotational assignment in April 2013 with Esso E & P Nigeria as an OIMS and Safety advisor on the USAN FPSO south of Port Harcourt," the email said, referring to the Safety, Health and Environment deparment in the organisation.

Karamjit, who is a father of two boys, had just finished his rotational shift and was on his way home to Kuala Lumpur.

"He was a dedicated and long-serving employee with 29 years of service with Exxon Mobil."

Karamjit, the company said, was a "dear friend, colleague, and brother" to many and would be "deeply missed".

Lanun serang kapal tangki Malaysia di perairan Laut China Selatan

Sekumpulan lanun menyerang kapal tangki Malaysia dan melarikan kargo berisi minyak sebelum menghanyutkannya dalam serangan terbaru di perairan Laut China Selatan, lewat malam tadi.

Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia (TLDM) dalam kenyataan yang dikeluarkan hari ini berkata, kapal MT Oriental Glory dirampas sekumpulan lanun sebelum menghanyutkannya dengan peralatan komunikasi dan enjin yang sudah rosak.

Sumatec to buy Kazakhstan firm for RM800m

Sumatec Resources Bhd signed a framework agreement with Abu Talib Abdul Rahman and Dr Murat Safin for the proposed acquisition of 100% interest in Borneo Energy Oil and Gas Ltd valued at US$250mil (RM800mil).

In a statement, Sumatec said the framework agreement gave Sumatec access to all data and information regarding parties and assets under the proposed acquisition for technical, legal and financial due diligence purposes.

Rasionalisasi subsidi, GST minyak dikaji

Keputusan kajian mengenai rasionalisasi subsidi dan cukai barangan dan perkhidmatan (GST) terhadap bahan api RON 95 dan diesel akan diumumkan kerajaan pada suku keempat tahun ini.

Menteri Kewangan II, Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah berkata, selepas pengumuman itu dibuat, pelaksanaannya dijangka bermula pada tahun depan.

Katanya, kerajaan mahu mengkaji impak keseluruhan pelaksanaan rasionalisasi subsidi dan GST bahan api kepada rakyat serta peringkat-peringkat gaji rakyat yang mungkin menerima subsidi dan dikecualikan daripada GST bahan api.

"Kita mungkin memberi subsidi kepada peringkat gaji tertentu. Sebagai contoh, mungkin mereka yang berpendapatan RM1,000 ke bawah akan diberi subsidi bahan api," katanya kepada pemberita selepas merasmikan persidangan kebangsaan GST selama dua hari di sini hari ini.

Yang turut hadir, Pengerusi Agensi Pertubuhan Berita Nasional (Bernama), Datuk Abdul Rahman Sulaiman dan Pengurus Besar Bernama, Datuk Yong Soo Heng.

Tambah Ahmad Husni, kerajaan dijangka memperoleh pendapatan sebanyak RM8 bilion daripada GST pada tahun kedua pelaksanaannya.

Pada tahun pertama yang bermula 1 April 2015 ujar beliau, pendapatan tambahan GST yang akan diperoleh kerajaan adalah sebanyak RM2.5 bilion.

Ditanya mengenai kesan pelaksanaan GST kepada penduduk luar bandar, Ahmad Husni berkata, penduduk luar bandar akan menerima impak yang minimum.

Katanya, setelah GST dilaksanakan, harga barangan dijangka sedikit meningkat, tetapi banyak barangan keperluan yang tidak dikenakan GST.

"Rang undang-undang senarai barangan dan perkhidmatan yang dikenakan kadar sifar akan digazetkan Ogos ini," ujar beliau.

Shell announces Malaysia deep-water gas discovery

Shell announced an exploration discovery offshore Malaysia. The successful ‘Rosmari-1’ well is located 135 kilometres offshore in Block SK318, and was drilled to a total depth of 2,123 metres.

The well encountered more than 450 metres of gas column. With further exploration planned, the finding is a positive indicator of the gas potential in an area of strategic interest for Shell.

“Rosmari-1 is a testament to our ability to successfully drill and build understanding of new geology within our existing exploration heartlands, adding value to our existing assets in Malaysia,” said Andy Brown, Director Shell Upstream International. “We are expanding and rejuvenating heartlands across our exploration portfolio, including in Brunei, Australia and the Gulf of Mexico.”

“This adds to Shell’s sequence of recent exploration successes in Malaysia, with these discoveries expanding the company’s heartlands positions,” said Iain Lo, Chairman Shell Malaysia.

Block SK318 is Shell operated with an 85% interest, with the remaining 15% held by PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd.

Petronas, Shell expand Baram Delta contract

Petronas, Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd and Shell Malaysia have expanded the terms of the 2011 Baram Delta (BDO) production sharing contract (PSC) for enhanced oil recovery projects (EOR) offshore Sarawak (2011 Baram Delta EOR PSC) to include gas rights.

With the signing of the heads of agreement (HOA) for Baram Delta Gas Gathering Project 2 (BARDEGG2), associated and non-associated gas rights linked with the Baram Delta Operations will be incorporated into the 2011 Baram Delta EOR PSC, Shell Malaysia said in a statement yesterday.

Hess orders central processing platform for offshore project in Malaysia

Hess Corporation has ordered a central processing platform for its Bergading Complex in Malaysia from South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries.

HHI, the world’s biggest shipbuilder and a leading offshore facilities contractor, announced today that it received a Letter of Award (LOA) from Hess Exploration and Production Malaysia B.V. on May 27, 2014 for the provision of engineering, procurement, construction, transportation, installation, hook-up and commissioning (EPCIC) contract for the Bergading Complex which comprises a central processing platform (CPP), a bridge and a wellhead platform.