Petronas has clarified that the Sinopec-led consortium has not taken part in any of its prior processes in the development of marginal offshore oilfields in Malaysia.
There have been several recent reports that the China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) has formed a consortium with Sabio Oil and Gas Sdn Bhd (SOG), a unit of Sabio Technology Bhd, and International Oil Design and Construction Sdn Bhd (IODC), a unit of ODCC Group of Iran, to undertake the development of a Petronas marginal oilfield located off the coast of Terengganu.
According to a Bernama report, Sinopec will hold 40% in the consortium while SOG and IODC will each hold a 30% stake.
“While Petronas is extremely encouraged with the interest shown by various local and international industry players in the country’s marginal fields, the Sinopec-Sabio-IODC consortium has not taken part in any of our prior processes.
“In addition, as part of our selection criteria, any local company to be selected by foreign partners to participate in the risk service contract (RSC) petroleum arrangement is required to have a proven track record as an established oil and gas service provider, apart from being a listed entity,” Petronas said in a statement yesterday.
Sabio Technology has reportedly received the nod for a listing on Bursa Malaysia and is expected to release its prospectus soon.
Little is known about Sabio Technology’s business but research shows that it is an electronic contract manufacturing services provider and is in PVC manufacturing.
SOG executive chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Sukimi Ibrahim is the president and managing director of Sukimi Group, an integrated petroleum corp.
According to its website, Sukimi Group is involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas, oil refining, marketing and distribution of petroleum products, trading, gas processing and liquefaction, gas transmission pipeline operation, marketing of liquefied natural gas, petrol chemical manufacturing and marketing, logistics and maritime and property investment.
Petronas has awarded only one RSC so far to a consortium that consists of Kencana Petroleum Bhd, SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd and Petrofac Energy Development Sdn Bhd to develop the Berantai field, off the coast of Terengganu.
“Petronas is developing in phases a number of marginal offshore fields in Malaysia under a new RSC petroleum arrangement. We had already completed a data review process with parties interested in the fields identified for the first phase of the development and have so far awarded a RSC for the Berantai field to the Petrofac-Kencana-Sapura partnership,” Petronas said.
