Kencana secures RM48.9m job to refurbish production unit

Kencana Petroleum Bhd has secured a RM48.9mil contract from Petrofac E & C Sdn Bhd to refurbish and convert a mobile offshore production unit.

It said on Tuesday its unit Kencana HL Sdn Bhd had on May 7, entered into the contract with Petrofac.

Under the contract, Kencana HL would undertake the engineering, procurement, and construction to refurbish and convert the production unit for an oilfield offshore Peninsular Malaysia.

"The total value of the contract is estimated at RM48.9mil. It is a one-off EPC contract and is expected to be delivered to the client within the third quarter of calendar year 2012," Kencana said.

'Projek reject' didakwa dibawa ke Pengerang

Projek pelaburan petrokimia kontroversi yang dibatalkan di Taiwan kini ditetapkan untuk dipindahkan ke Pengerang, Johor, lapor media Taiwan.

Menurut Taipei Times, Menteri Hal Ehwal Ekononomi Shih Yen-shiang mengesahkan perkara itu kepada pemberita semalam.

Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak sebelum ini mengumumkan syarikat petrokimia Taiwan akan melabur sehingga RM36 billion untuk projek pembangunan bersepadu penapisan minyak dan petrokimia di Pengerang.

Pelaburannya dilaporkan akan mencecah RM120 bilion untuk tempoh lima hingga enam tahun seterusnya.

Walaupun Najib dan pihak berkuasa tempatan tidak mendedahkan identiti syarikat Taiwan itu, Shih memberitahu mesyuarat jawatankuasa perundangan bahawa syarikat terbabit Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co.

Sebahagian besar pegangan Kuokuang dimiliki syarikat milik negara CPC Corp.

Pegawai perhubungan media CPC memberitahu Taipei Times bahawa Kuokuang akan membina kilang penapis, pemecah nafta (naphtha cracker) dan loji lain di tapak itu.

Gas Malaysia to list on June 11, says source

Gas Malaysia Bhd is expected to debut on the Malaysian bourse on June 11, a source with direct knowledge of the listing told Reuters, after it obtained approval today from Malaysia’s Securities Commission to register its listing prospectus.

The planned listing of the country’s sole supplier of natural gas to the non-power sector was originally scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2011, but was delayed due to non-compliance with the commission’s rules.

One of the commission’s conditions was for Gas Malaysia to ensure that its petrol stations were built on land that was designated for that purpose, according to an announcement by its major shareholder MMC Corp Bhd in October last year.

The listing is expected to raise over RM734.4 million, according to Gas Malaysia, potentially making it the third largest IPO in 2012 after Felda Global Venture Holdings Bhd and Integrated Healthcare Holdings Bhd.

Maybank Investment Bank is the advisor for the IPO.

Gas Malaysia is 55 per cent-owned by MMC-Shapadu (Holdings) Sdn Bhd, while Tokyo Gas-Mitsui & Co (Holdings) Sdn Bhd holds 25 per cent and Petronas Gas Bhd owns the balance.

Malaysia’s seventh-richest person, Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, controls MMC Corp.

Malaysian builder MMC Corp also plans to relist its 51 per cent owned Malakoff Corp Bhd — the country’s largest independent power producer — on the local bourse next year in a move to unlock the value of its power assets. — Reuters

McDermott wins another Murphy gig in Malaysia

Murphy Oil has signed up US contractor McDermott to provide subsea engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning for its deep-water Siakap North – Petai (SNP) project in Malaysia.

The contract, which will be carried out by McDermott’s Malaysian subsidiary, comes on foot of last year’s deal between the pair on neighbouring deep-water oilfield Kikeh, where the current development is being tied back to.

The works include rigid flowlines, flexible risers, an umbilical and subsea hardware and controls for the SNP field, which is situated northwest of Labuan Island in waters 3900 to 4900 feet deep.

The SNP field will have two rigid, insulated, pipe-in-pipe production flowlines, one rigid water injection flowline and one main umbilical system connecting eight new manifolds and subsea distribution units to existing riser slots on the Kikeh floating production, storage and offloading vessel.

The development calls for five water injection and eight production wells, drilled from the manifolds at each of the four drill centre locations, McDermott said. The New York-listed contractor said detailed engineering and procurement was underway, with first fabrication in the third quarter of this year and completion a year later. 

The financial value of the contract was not disclosed.

Aker Solutions gets contract from Murphy Sabah Oil

Murphy Sabah Oil has awarded a contract to Aker Solutions to deliver a sub-sea production system for the Siakap North-Petai deepwater development, off Sabah.

According to Aker Solutions, it said on Wednesday the contract will be delivered out of its sub-sea manufacturing centre in Port Klang. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Siakap North-Petai is located offshore Sabah, in a water depth of 1400 metres. The subsea production system will be tied back to Murphy's Kikeh floating production storage and offloading vessel.

"The scope of work includes 13 subsea trees, eight manifolds, well jumpers, engineering for topside controls and lifecycle support services. The first hardware delivery is scheduled for Q1 2013," it said.

Loji Petronas Kerteh Meletup, Dua Maut

Dua pekerja syarikat kontraktor terbunuh manakala lapan yang lain cedera dalam letupan di sebuah loji pengeluaran gas di GPP3 dekat Kerteh, Kemaman petang Khamis.

Identiti kedua-dua mangsa belum diketahui dan mereka yang cedera dikejarkan ke Hospital Kemaman dan Hospital Dungun untuk rawatan lanjut.

Menurut sumber, kejadian berlaku kira-kira pukul 3 petang ini ketika kesemua mangsa sedang melakukan kerja penyelenggaraan di loji tersebut.

Bagaimanapun, menurut sumber itu, kebakaran berjaya dikawal dan api dapat dipadamkan kira-kira pukul 3.20 petang.

Petronas Gas Jan-March net profit at RM333.45m

Petronas Gas Bhd reported net profit of RM333.45mil in the January-March quarter of 2012 and expects earnings to remain stable due to the fixed fee structure under the Gas Processing and Transmission Agreement (GPTA).

It announced on Wednesday that revenue rose 2.6% to RM914.80mil from a year ago mainly due to higher utilities sales and gas transportation revenue.

"Profit before tax increased by RM96.1mil (27.4%) as compared to the corresponding quarter mainly due to lower cost of revenue. Accordingly, profit after tax increased by RM67.0 million (25.1%)," it said.

When compared with the preceding quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, it said pre-tax profit fell 3.8% to RM446.90mil mainly due to higher other expenses following an unrealised loss from the revaluation of Currency Exchange Agreement (CEA) and retranslation of term loan.

On the outlook, Petronas Gas expected stable earnings due to GPTA with additional earnings potential from the performance-based structure, which would hinge on the level of production of by-products and their prices.

"The completion of the LNG Regasification Terminal in Melaka within the next 12 months will have a positive impact to the group's earnings in terms of additional income from regasification and transportation services," it said.

Petronas Sells $557 Million APA Group Stake

Petroliam Nasional’s Australian unit has sold its 17.3% stake in natural gas infrastructure company APA Group, three people familiar with the sale told Deal Journal Australia.

Morgan Stanley acted as bookrunner for the sale of 111.3 million shares that were sold at A$4.85 each, raising a total of 539.8 million Australian dollars (US$557 million), one of the people said.  The deal price represents a 6.4% discount to APA Group’s Tuesday closing price of A$5.18 a share.

A spokesman for Petroliam Nasional, or Petronas, was unreachable for comment Tuesday.

APA is Australia’s largest natural gas infrastructure business operating a network of facilities and pipelines worth A$9 billion. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.

Malaysia’s Petronas said in March that profit fell 36% for its fiscal third quarter in the absence of gains from stock-market listings a year earlier. The state-owned company also warned that a dispute in Sudan is likely to slow production this year.

Petronas has sold at least two minority stakes in entirety in the last 13 months. In April 2011, the company sold a 14.94% stake in Indian oil and gas explorer Cairn India for US$2.1 billion. In February 2012, the Malaysian energy giant sold its 3.9% stake in U.K’s largest supplier of gas and electricity Centrica for around US$932 million.

APA Group is attempting to takeover rival pipeline owner Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund, a transaction that is yet to be approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Ramunia seeks more jobs from Petronas, other contractors

Ramunia Holdings Bhd, which recently secured a letter of intent (LOI) for fabrication jobs worth RM150mil, is actively looking to secure more jobs from Petronas as well as other major contractors.

A PN17 company, Ramunia is looking to beef up its order-book with major offshore fabrication works and other oil and gas activities as part of its regularisation plan.

In its circular to shareholders yesterday, the company said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ramunia Fabricators Sdn Bhd (RFSB), was one of seven licensed major fabricators in an industry closely overseen by national oil company Petronas.

“The company is currently actively bidding for jobs from Petronas as well as other oil majors and contractors in Malaysia and regionally to re-establish itself as a key player in the oil and gas industry,” Ramunia said.

On March 13, the company said it had been awarded a RM23.62mil contract by Aquaterra Energy Ltd for the fabrication of well-head support structures for the West Desaru project. The structures comprise two subsea structures and one topside structure with a boat landing facility.

In January last year, the company announced the proposed acquisition of Pulau Indah Integrated Fabrication Yard for RM83.8mil.

“The Pulau Indah Yard will provide the company with a strategic location to carry out fabrication activities to support Petronas and other oil majors covering both west and east Malaysia,” Ramunia said.

Ramunia recently confirmed reports that it had received an LOI from Sarawak Shell Bhd for two contracts on the fabrication of two sub-structures and two topsides for about RM150mil.

Bursa Malaysia on Jan 19 approved the regularisation plan, which was submitted by AmInvestment Bank Bhd on July 13, 2011.

In May last year, Ramunia told Bursa that its regularisation plan would comprise capital reconstruction, where it would cancel 25 sen from the par value of the existing ordinary share of 50 sen each, and the credit would be used to offset its accumulated losses.

Ramunia also proposed a renounceable two-for-five rights issue of up to 391.44 million new shares at an indicative issue price of 40 sen each.

The proposed rights issue could finance the acquisition of Pulau Indah Yard from Oilfab Sdn Bhd without incurring further interest costs.

The exercise is expected to raise gross proceeds of up to RM156.6mil

Kencana HL, Shinryo get Petronas Gas job

Kencana HL Sdn Bhd, in consortium with Shinryo (M) Sdn Bhd, had signed a contract with Petronas Gas Bhd to provide engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) work for two co-generation plants.

The portion of the contract value for Kencana HL which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kenchana Petroleum Bhd, is estimated at RM35 million.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, Kencana Petroleum said the plants would have a combined capacity of 50MW of electrical power and steam capacity of 120 tonnes per hour.

The contract forms part of Petronas Gas’ gas processing plant in Kertih, Terengganu, it said.

Kencana Petroleum said the contract's scope of work in general included project management, engineering, procurement, construction and installation of steel structures, piping and equipment as well as civil works.

The contract is expected to be fully completed by the first quarter of 2014 and contribute positively to the earnings and net assets per share of Kencana Petroleum Group for the duration of the contract, it said. -- Bernama