Fire breaks out aboard MISC tanker in Labuan

A fire broke out early today on board a chemical/palm oil tanker of MISC Berhad in Labuan, causing a loud explosion which rocked Labuan, and has claimed one life as of now.

Three people were injured in the fire, which occurred on board the vessel, Bunga Alpinia, and an operation has been mounted to search for one missing person, according to a fire and rescue team.

The cause of the 2.30am incident is still under investigation.

Labuan has gained recognition as an oil and gas hub, and it is home to many international oil and gas companies.

MISC said in a statement that the 38,000 DWT IMO II vessel had 29 crew, comprising 23 Malaysians and six Filipinos. It said 24 of the crew had been brought to shore.

The vessel was alongside the Petronas Methanol Sdn Bhd terminal in Labuan when the incident took place at about 2.30am.

“No further details of the incident are available at this point,” the statement said.
It added that all authorities had been notified accordingly and MISC was working closely to render necessary assistance.

Firefighters were at the scene in an effort to put out the blaze, and the ship could be seen listing following the fire and explosion that rattled Labuan.

Search and rescue crew were also scrambling to locate the missing persons.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad said that it was undertaking all necessary action to ensure the safety of all personnel at its subsidiary, Petronas Chemicals Methanol Sdn Bhd, where the fire incident took place.

Following the incident, the operations of the Patau-Patau Power Station owned by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) located adjacent to the terminal was temporarily halted for safety reasons.

SESB managing director Abdul Razak Sallim said this was to enable the fire and rescue personnel to take the necessary preventive and safety measures.

Channelling of gas stopped

The channelling of gas from Petronas Chemicals Methanol to the Patau-Patau power station was stopped immediately until after the situation returned to normal and it was safe, he said in a statement.

Abdul Razak said the temporary shutdown was expected to affect SESB’s capability to channel electricity to all consumers in duty-free Labuan.

He also said that several emergency measures to meet the shortfall in electricity generation capacity would be implemented, including Demand Side Management (DSM), during the period of peak demand.

Rationing of electricity supply would only be implemented in stages if the implementation of the DSM was unable to cope with the demand and the station could not operate at optimum capacity, he said.

The Patau-Patau Power Station has the capacity to generate 103.5MW of electricity, and is the only power station in the Federal Territory of Labuan.

SPK-Sentosa in oilfield services JV

SPK-Sentosa Corporation Bhd is venturing into the oilfield services and equipment via a joint venture with the Netherland's Superior Energy Services B.V. (SES).

SPK said on Wednesday it had signed a shareholders agreement with SES and Superior Energy Services (KL) Sdn. Bhd to provide the oilfield services and equipment.

"The proposed JV will enable SPK to provide specialised oilfield services and equipment, focused on serving the drilling and production-related needs of oil and gas companies, as well as plug and abandonment and decommissioning services required at the end of a well's life," it said.

SES's major shareholder is Superior Energy Services Group B.V., which holds a 100% stake.

SPK's core activities are homes, construction, technology and oil and gas.

Tanjung Bin Power to issue up to RM4.5bil Sukuk

Independent power producer Tanjung Bin Power Sdn Bhd has proposed a Sukuk Ijarah programme of up to RM4.5bil in nominal value (2012/2029).

RAM Rating Services Bhd said on Tuesday it had assigned a preliminary AA2 long-term rating to the proposed programme while the long-term rating had a stable outlook.

Tanjung Bin Power was granted the right to build, own and operate a 2,100MW coal-fired power plant in Tanjung Bin, Johor, for 25 years under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB). The PPA expires on Sept 27, 2031.

“Proceeds from the Sukuk Ijarah will mainly be utilised to refinance the outstanding RM3.53bil under the company's existing RM5.57bil Istisna' medium-term notes programme (2003/2018) and for working capital purposes, and/or to provide payment/advance to its shareholder(s),” said the ratings agency.

RAM Ratings said the preliminary rating reflected Tanjung Bin Power's robust debt-coverage levels; its minimum finance service coverage ratio was expected to be 1.66 times, which was in line with an AA2 rating.

It said the preliminary rating was also supported by Tanjung Bin Power's strong business profile, underscored by the favourable terms of its PPA with TNB.

“We derive further comfort from the sturdy credit profile of TNB, whose debt facility carries an AAA rating, with a stable outlook,” it said.

However, RAM Ratings said the plant had been increasingly experiencing operational hiccups since 2010.

In fiscal 2011, its total unscheduled outage hours resulted in an unscheduled outage rate (UOR) that exceeded the PPA limit of 6%, resulting in availability capacity payments (ACPs) losses; in any case, the ACPs losses have been fully recovered though reimbursement from TNB for unutilised scheduled outage hours.

“We note that the Plant's UOR had eased below 6% as at end-February 2012. In any case, our sensitised cashflow analysis assumes ACP losses due to operational hiccups throughout the tenure of the Sukuk Ijarah.

“In the meantime, and similar to all other IPPs, Tanjung Bin Power remains exposed to regulatory and single-project risks,” it said.

Perisai Petroleum To Focus On Production And Drilling

Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd is expected to focus on production and drilling going forward, says HwangDBS Vickers Research Sdn Bhd.

The research firm said Perisai Petroleum's flagship mobile offshore production unit (MOPU) for Petronas Carigali is under long-term contract until Sept 13, which may be extended by a year.

"Securing contracts for its MOPU upon expiry should not be an issue, given the MOPU's versatility, mobility and relatively lower operating costs," it said in a research note today.

HwangDBS also said that Perisai Petroleum may be able to participate in EOC Ltd's floating production, storage and offloading project at Petronas-Hess' US$5.2 billion North Malay Basin development.

"Under the project, gas floater Lewek Arunothai will undergo modification to meet the first gas production timeline in the first quarter next year," it said.

PetroChina, Total, Petronas Calgari Start Oil Production at Iraq's Halfaya

HALFAYA, Iraq - PetroChina Co. Ltd. and its partners Total SA and Petronas Calgari, said Wednesday oil production has commenced at the Halfaya oil field in southern Iraq.

Iraq Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said the consortium has started production of 100,000 barrels a day from the field, with some 16 billion barrels of oil in place.

PetroChina, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp., or CNPC, China's largest energy producer, holds 37.5% of the consortium. Total and Petronas Calgari each hold a 18.75% stake in the consortium, while Iraq's state partner holds the remaining 25%.

In late 2009, the PetroChina-led group won the right to develop the oil field some 35 kilometers south of the city of Amarah in southern Iraq.

The second phase of Halfaya will involve production capacity reaching 200,000 barrels a day by the end of 2013, while the third phase will have the field pumping a total of 400,000 barrels a day by the end of 2014, Iraq's oil minister, Abdul Kareem Luaiby, said. The consortium is planning to hit production of 600,000 barrels a day by the end of 2016, he added.

Mr. Shahristani said Iraq's total output has reached around 3.1 million barrels a day, up from three million barrels a day last month.

Iraq, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, holds the world's third-largest oil reserves and has become the second-largest oil exporter in OPEC after Iran, whose output is retreating following sanctions imposed by the European Union against Iran's oil exports.

So far, PetroChina has invested some $700 million in Halfaya and the investment is expected to reach $1 billion by the end of this year, said Adnan Sajet, head of the joint-management committee of the field.

Some 22 new wells have been drilled in the field. Five wells existed before PetroChina started work on the project.

Six rigs are in operation in the field, Mr. Sajet said. The consortium is employing 2,000 Iraqis, he added.

CNPC and its subsidiary PetroChina are developing two more Iraqi fields. Along with BP PLC (BP, BP.LN), CNPC is developing Iraq's largest oil field, Rumaila, in southern Basra province, where production is hitting 1.35 million barrels a day.

The firm is also developing Ahdab oil field in Wasit province in central Iraq. The field recently started pumping 140,000 barrels a day.

CNPC has invested $3.3 billion in developing oil projects in Iraq so far, the company's vice president, Wang Dongjin, said.

Missan oil fields--Halfaya, Buzurkan, Fuka and Abu Ghareb--are producing nearly 200,000 barrels a day, generating some $200 million a day for Iraq, Mr. Shahristani said.

Production from Missan oil fields is expected to hit one million barrels a day in the next few years, Mr. Shahristani added.

Petronas and Versalis in petrochemical project

Petronas has signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Italy-based Versalis SpA to jointly own, develop, construct and operate elastomer plants within Petronas’ proposed refinery and petrochemical integrated development (Rapid) complex in Pengerang, Johor.

The proposed joint venture will produce and market synthetic rubbers using Versalis’ technology licence and technical know-how.

The elastomer plants will be part of the world-scale facilities to be developed within the RM60bil Rapid complex.

Petronas was represented by its chief operating officer Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin who is also executive vice-president for downstream business. Versalis was represented by its chief executive officer Daniele Ferrari.

Versalis will bring into the partnership elastomer operation records and wealth of experience and expertise that would contribute towards strengthening Petronas and Malaysia’s position as a key downstream petrochemical player in the region.

Headquartered in Milan, Versalis (formerly known as Polimeri Europa) is a petrochemical company wholly-owned and controlled by Eni SpA, an Italian multinational oil and gas company.

It manages the production and marketing of a wide portfolio of petrochemical products, using a range of proprietary technologies and state-of-the-art production systems and a wide-reaching and efficient distribution network.

The agreement with Versalis is the fourth of such arrangement secured by Petronas for Rapid and the engineering activities will commence immediately.

Prior to this, Petronas had inked similar agreements with BASF of Germany, Itochu Corp of Japan and PTT Global Chemical Public Co Ltd of Thailand for various high value-added downstream chemicals.

Petronas is currently pursuing the selection of other potential partners and licensors for the various facilities to be developed within Rapid.

Petronas’ proposed Rapid project is by far the largest liquid-based green-field downstream undertaking in Malaysia.

It will have a 300,000 barrels per day refinery to supply the petrochemical complex, apart from producing a host of refined petroleum products, including gasoline and diesel that meet the Euro 4 and Euro 5 fuel specifications.

The petrochemical component of the project will allow Petronas to expand its product portfolio from commodity petrochemicals to premium differentiated and specialty chemicals, capitalising on the growing demand for these higher value products in the Asia-Pacific region.
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Labuan Shipyard Expects Results Of Petronas Bids Early Next Year

Labuan Shipyard and Engineering Sdn Bhd (LSE), which is making billion-ringgit bids for Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) projects, expected the results in the second half of this year or at least early next year.

Its chief executive officer, Mohd Azman Nasir, said LSE's facilities and the over 500 employees, be it in the engineering or technical fields, should help the company realise its objective.

He said Petronas officials had carried out an assessment of the yard's facilities and hopefully more projects, particularly fabrication, would be channelled to LSE.

"This is a great challenge for us to meet the high standard and expectation of Petronas," he said at the completion of the fabrication of of two single-point mooring (SPM) buoys for the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal at Kimanis, Sabah.

The RM150 million project was awarded to LSE by marine offshore service provider, Alam Maritime (M) Sdn Bhd.

Shell loses 12.58m barrels of crude to illegal bunkering in six months

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has lost 12.58 million barrels of crude oil between December 2011 and June this year, to illegal bunkering.

The company’s Operations Manager, Swamp 1, East, Mesh Maichibi, released the figure  at the weekend, while briefing journalists during an over-flight of the Nembe Creek Trunk line (NCTL) in Rivers and Bayelsa states.

Maichibi said that out of the number, 1.44 million barrels were deferred due to low pressure on the trunk line caused by trip-offs during the illegal bunkering activities.

He explained that when crude oil stayed under ground and did not come out for use, it was called deferment since there was a lost in production.

The operations manager said the NCTL consisted of two major trunk lines, San Batholomew and Cawthorne Channel Junction Manifold, adding that crude oil theft on the facilities had increased recently.

Maichibi noted that the Trunk lines, re-commissioned in 2010, had not experienced any significant oil theft until Dec. 24, 2011 when a major spill of 245 barrels was reported on it.

He said that the spill was at the Tora manifold and was caused by two failed six inches bunkering connections.

“The repairs required installation of coffer dams and took till January 23, at a total production deferment of 4.3 million barrels.

“Since the restart of production on January 23, there have been multiple facility trips caused by pressure drops, resulting from illegal off take.

“Once there are massive illegal bunkering activities, the pressure on the affected facility will drop and trip off,” Maichibi explained.

He said that after the commencement of production on January 23, another trip-off occurred from January 26, to January 31 due to low pressure on the line.

According to him, the situation reoccurred in February for 16 days, March for 10 days, and in April for 12 days all due to pressure trip-offs on export lines.

He pointed out that in May, the trunk line was shut down for 25 days and in June for 26 days due to leaks on failed illegal bunkering and fire at the Alakiri-Bonny line.

Maichibi said that from 2007 to 2010, the entire NCTL from Nembe 1 Manifold to Cawthorne Channel Manifold was replaced with a new 24”/30” pipeline at the cost of $960 million, saying that the replacement was necessitated by integrity issues resulting from militancy attacks, adding that the pipeline was designed for maximum gross output of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd).

In a bid to protect the line, he said, members of the Joint Task Force (JTF) were deployed to Cawthorne Channel, Awoba Manifold, San Barth and Tora Manifold, while 47-community surveillance contracts, employing 357 community workers at the cost of N1.09 billion, were also awarded.

The SPDC Right of Way Surveillance Officer, Mkpaka Jack, later conducted newsmen round the Cawthorne channel, Awoba, Bille, and Krakama fields where a lot of destroyed illegal refineries had polluted the waters.

Jack also conducted the newsmen round the Nembe axis, where evidence of illegal bunkering was seen.

He said it would take the commitment of the JTF and the communities in the creek to stop the economic sabotage.

More than 100 killed in Nigeria tanker fire as villagers tried to scoop up spilled fuel before blast

A petrol tanker crashed, caught fire and exploded in Nigeria yesterday, killing more than 100 people who had rushed to the scene to scoop up fuel that had spilled.

At least 50 others were injured in the incident in the southern Niger Delta region.
Witnesses said some charred corpses were still lying in the area hours after the explosion, including bodies the size of children.

Alagoa Morris, coordinator at advocacy group Oil Watch Nigeria, said: 'What did these small ones know about coming to scoop fuel?'

He said some women wailed at the scene of the explosion, desperately looking for their relatives.

The location of some of the bodies suggested that the victims were trying to run away when fire consumed them.

Mr Morris said: 'How can people who have enough to eat scoop oil that belongs to someone else? It is poverty.'

The tanker was trying to avoid a head-on collision with buses when it swerved into a ditch yesterday morning, said Rivers State police spokesman Ben Ugwuegbulam.

It then overturned, leaving its fuel to spill and people immediately swarmed to the scene to collect some of it.

Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for the West African country's emergency management agency, said the 95 people were killed in the explosion that ensued.

It was not immediately clear what had caused the fire that left the truck burned to ashes.

Despite decades as an oil producing region, the majority of those living in the Niger Delta remain desperately poor and mostly without access to proper medical care, education or work.

Anger over the situation on several occasions has driven young people to attack foreign oil firms based there and steal fuel from pipelines.

The crude that flows from the Niger Delta is the lifeblood of Nigeria's economy. The OPEC member now pumps out about 2.4million barrels of oil a day, making it Africa's biggest producer.

Production dropped drastically during the militant attacks that targeted pipelines and saw foreign workers kidnapped. A 2009 government-sponsored amnesty program saw many fighters lay down their arms and the violence largely stop.

The truck accident took place near the town of Okogbe, about 40miles from Port Harcourt city, Nigeria's oil capital in the delta - a region of swamps, mangroves and creek.

A pipeline and a filling station were near the accident site, but neither was affected.

President Goodluck Jonathan said in a statement he is 'deeply saddened by the loss of many lives' caused by the explosion and 'particularly distraught by the fact that once again, so many Nigerian lives have been lost in an avoidable fuel fire disaster'.

A photographer who was at the scene said that the accident occurred on a major East-West highway that was being expanded.

Construction workers, however, hadn't yet reached the level where the accident occurred which remained a single lane, often forcing vehicles racing head-on to seek avoiding each other.

Mr Alagoa said the accident 'would not have happened' if the road had two lanes there.

At least two contracts have been signed over the last six years to expand the highway that runs through Niger Delta states, according to a government website. However, corruption often hinders or slows down road construction and maintenance projects.

Accidents are also common on Nigeria's poorly maintained roads. Drivers often travel at high speed and overtake slower vehicles, leading to head-on collisions with high death rates.

'This tells a tragic story about the state of national infrastructure and the poverty of the people,' said Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of Environmental Rights Action.

Petronas temui simpanan minyak, gas terbesar di Sarawak

BINTULU: Petronas telah menemui simpanan minyak dan gas terbesar melalui penggerudian NC3 dan Spaoh-1 di Blok SK316 dan SK306 di luar pantai Sarawak yang sekali gus bakal merangsang peluang perniagaan dalam industri terbabit, kata Menteri Kemajuan Tanah Tan Sri James Masing.

Katanya, pada Mac tahun lepas penggerudian NC3 telaga ‘wildcat’ telah membawa kepada penemuan Petronas kepada Blok SK316 dengan anggaran awal jumlah bersih simpanan di situ adalah sebanyak 2.6 trilion kubik kaki standard (tscf).

Beliau berkata, setiap telaga digerudi dengan kedalaman hampir 4,000 meter di bawah paras laut.

“Hasil penemuan melalui keputusan ujian aliran pengeluaran ke atas telaga itu me-nunjukkan bidang teknikal berdaya maju.

“Telaga Spaoh-1 dengan kedalaman penggerudian 3,000 meter terletak di lokasi Blok SK306 yang digerudi pada Disember 2010 juga te-lah membawa kepada penemuan minyak dan gas di situ,” ujarnya ketika berucap dalam Majlis Perasmian Ekspo Teknologi Minyak Sawit serta Minyak dan Gas Antarabangsa Malaysia 2012 anjuran Fireworks Event (M) Sdn Bhd di Dewan Suarah Bintulu semalam.

Katanya, syarikat minyak negara itu dilaporkan membuat penilaian masing-ma-singnya sekitar 100 juta tong minyak dan 0.2 tscf gas di kawasan itu.

“Kini telaga itu dalam persediaan untuk ujian penge-luaran. Penemuan ini diso-kong oleh strategi Petronas dengan memperhebatkan aktiviti penerokaannya di Malaysia dan dijangka meningkatkan penerokaan di kawa-san yang berpotensi di luar pantai Sarawak,” jelasnya.

Beliau berkata untuk tempoh tiga tahun akan datang, lebih 50 penerokaan telaga dijangka akan dilakukan membabitkan penggerudian luar pantai Malaysia oleh Petronas dan perkongsian pengeluaran dengan para kontraktor.

“Aktiviti hasil daripada penemuan itu dijangka akan merangsang peluang perniagaan dalam industri minyak dan gas sekali gus mempromosikan pelaburan huluan dalam negara khasnya di Sarawak,” katanya.

Mengenai ekspo itu kata- nya, difahamkan sebanyak 130 pondok pameran industri didirikan yang disertai oleh syarikat industri tempatan dan luar negara membabitkan sektor industri minyak sawit, gas dan minyak antaranya dari Singapura, Brunei, Britain, China, India dan Amerika.

Sementara itu, Pengarah Urusan Fireworks Event Jerel Soo berkata, ekspo itu tidak hanya mempamerkan tekno-logi dan produk terkini bah-kan memacu pertumbuhan industri dan pembangunan ke puncak yang lebih tinggi.

Katanya, ekspo itu adalah sebagai landasan kepada pe-nerokaan peluang perniagaan minyak sawit baharu, per-kembangan dan penembusan pasaran di Sarawak serta antarabangsa di samping hubungan kerja dalam industri berkaitan.

RM1.5b gas-fired plant operational in 3 years

Kota Kinabalu: Power supply in Sabah will get a further boost with a 300-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant becoming fully operational in 2014 in Kimanis, Papar.

The RM1.5 billion plant owned by Kimanis Power Sdn Bhd (KPSB) is a 60:40 joint-venture initiative between Petronas Gas Berhad (PGB) and a business arm of Yayasan Sabah Group, NRG Consortium (Sabah) Sdn Bhd.

The plant consists of three generating blocks and each block will generate 100MW and consist of Gas Turbine Generator (GTG), Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) and Steam Turbine Generator (STG).

State Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan said the plant will be tapped to the State's power grid to supply electricity from the West Coast to the East, which is in need of power to meet its increasing demand for domestic and industrial use.

"The gas-fuelled power plant in Kimanis, about 65km from here, is going to facilitate us and to make sure Sabah energy plants have sufficient electricity available not only for the short-term but also long-term.

"To meet future demands for power supply, the plant has allocated a space at the current site to build required equipment and infrastructures for another 100MW supply.

"Meaning to say, supply can be maximised to 400MW when needed and there is another 100 MW gas-fired power plant by SPR Energy in Kimanis, which would provide up to a total of 500MW of electricity," he said.

Tan said this to reporters after the signing of an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract for the combined cycle gas power plant between KPSB and a consortium, Taiwan-based CTCI Corporation, Synerlitz Sdn Bhd and a subsidiary of Suria Capital Holdings Berhad, SCHB Engineering Services, at a hotel here on Monday.

He was representing Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman to witness the signing of the contract and exchange of documents between KPSB managing director M Ali Hashim and CTCI Corporation Chairman cum CEO John T. Yu.

Under the contract, the consortium will develop, construct and commission the gas-fired power plant and its related facilities and infrastructures.

M Ali said the project is expected to benefit the State not only by supplying a clean source of energy to meet increasing demand for electricity but will also provide development opportunities for Sabah and the surrounding community.

He said the package includes construction of the project within 32 months from Apr 1 this year until the first commercial operation date for the first generating block on Dec 1, 2013.

Meanwhile, Yu said the completion dates of each three generating block are scheduled for Dec 1, 2013 followed by the second block on Feb 1, 2014 and finally the last block on Apr 1, 2014.

Upon completion, he said, the Kimanis Power Plant will be the biggest IPP plant Sabah and will be undertaking a great responsibility in supplying reliable and clean electricity to Sabahans.

Tan said the Kimanis Power Plant project is one of the major spin-offs from the proposed Sabah Onshore Gas Terminal (SOGT) project, which is also located in Kimanis and being implemented by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd.

He said the power plant will use a clean source of natural gas produced offshore Sabah, which will be landed at and supplied by the SOGT.

Besides helping State to boost electricity supply, Tan said the plant would also provide more jobs for local Sabahans.

"Petronas has also built a centre in Kimanis to train our local youths for jobs in SOGT and the first batch involving 25 Sabah youths would begin their classes in a rented shoplot in Membakut this July.

"Our concern has been taken into account whereby Sabahans are given priority to acquire technical skills that will enable them to work in the Kimanis power plant and SOGT," he said.

On the latest development to bringing oil and gas downstream activities to Sipitang, Tan said they are working out with Petronas the right location and constructing the required infrastructure for the activities.

"The latest that we get from Petronas is that we have been working with a technical team quite consistently now in order to determine what is the suitable location to build the required infrastructure.

"In some ways, we have agreed to do a take-off and diversion to Sipitang from Kimanis provided there are takers for gas in Sipitang when this district is designated for downstream of oil and gas activities," he said.

Ship Capsized : 26 victims saved by Malaysian Navy

Kuala Lumpur (AFP/ANTARA)  - Malaysian Navy saved 26 victims of a ship which sank after it was believed to have been hit by strong waves.

Among the victims are journalists from England, Japan and America.

The ship with 12 crew and 14 passengers, sank on Thursday close to the islands in Sabah and Kalimantan., said Mohamad Izuar Zainuddin of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

The victims were found floating in Life-Craft and 2 Life Boat during a Search and Rescue Operations conducted after receiving a distress call, said Mohamad Izuar.

All 7 British, 4 American, 2 Japanese and a Dutch were accounted for along with  its crew of 1 German, 1 Irish and 10 Thais. All survived without any injuries.

The ship was leaving Sabah before the mishap however at press time, the authority still cannot confirm how long they were floating and the actual cause of the ship to have capsized, said Mohamad Izuar.

Last year, in a similar incident, two Singaporean tourist went missing after a fishing vessel there were in, capsized and sank at Southern Malaysia after it collided with an Oil Tanker.

Petronas chafes at its role as Malaysia's piggy bank (Good governance)

As state oil companies go, Petronas has a good reputation for governance. A 2011 World Bank working paper on governance and performance of national oil companies ranked Petronas slightly above the global average.

Mahathir drew criticism for tapping Petronas to bail out a debt-burdened shipping concern controlled by his eldest son, Mirzan, and again to support Malaysian auto company Proton, which makes the Lotus Formula One car.

But it has been called upon to bankroll some questionable projects, both under Najib and his predecessors. Twice - in 1984 and 1989 - Mahathir asked Petronas to bail out scandal-ridden Bank Bumiputra Bhd from collapse. In those two rescues, Petronas injected a total of 3.3 billion ringgit into the bank.

Mahathir denied he had bailed out his son. Petronas "drove a very hard bargain" and ended up turning a profit on the deal, he insisted. Petronas has repeatedly declined to discuss the bailouts.

The strains between Petronas and the government spilled out into the public after Najib took office in 2009.

Hassan Marican, Petronas's CEO at the time, disagreed with Najib over issues ranging from who should be named to the Petronas board to which Formula One car to sponsor.

Reuters has learned that Najib gave Hassan just six days' notice that his contract would not be renewed in 2010, ending a 21-year career. Three people with direct knowledge of the situation said Hassan was let go because he did not get along with Najib.

"Six days to pack up a career spanning more than two decades," said a person close to Hassan.

Hassan, now a board member at U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips and chairman of utilities company Singapore Power, did not respond to repeated interview requests.

Appointed by Mahathir, the 59-year-old accountant by training had considerable freedom before the clashes with Najib. Mahathir said Hassan often said "no" to his suggestions, though he did agree to bail out the national car company that was the prime minister's pride and joy and the company owned by Mahathir's son.

Hassan refused to use inexperienced Malaysian companies to develop Malaysia's oil and gas industry, or to pursue costly ventures to develop the country's marginal oil fields, the source close to Hassan said.

Those two projects are now part of Najib's ambitious $444 billion economic transformation program launched in September 2010 - just seven months after Hassan's removal. ($1 = 3.1985 Malaysian ringgit)

(Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg in Mexico City and Yantoultra Ngui in Kuala Lumpur.; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Michael Williams)

Coastal Energy inks small risk service contract with Petronas

Toronto-listed Coastal Energy Company will develop and produce oil from three small fields offshore Peninsular Malaysia under a small field risk service contract with Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

According to Coastal Energy, it would focus on the Kapal, Banang and Meranti cluster of small fields (KBM cluster) where 17 wells would be drilled of which 10 would be at Kapal, four at Banang and three at Meranti.

The KBM Cluster fields are within 20 kilometers of each other in a water depth of 60 meters. The main oil reservoirs are Miocene aged sandstones ranging in depths from 3,800 feet to 7,800 feet.

Under the contract, Coastal is finalising an arrangement for a Malaysian company to participate in the Small Field RSC for 30%-40% equity interest.

"Coastal will provide the upfront development capital, undertaking the development drilling and production of the KBM Cluster. Petronas will remain the owner of the project," it said.

Costal expects would be paid a remuneration fee based on key performance indicators including the timely implementation of the agreed field development plan and budget.

First oil from the Kapal field is scheduled within one year followed by production from the Banang field a year later. Coastal will develop the fields using mobile offshore production units (MOPUs) and floating storage and offloading tankers.

Blast at Bangkok oil refinery triggers huge blaze

An explosion at an oil refinery in an industrial area of Bangkok sparked a massive fire early Wednesday, sending a thick column of smoke into the air that could be seen across the Thai capital.

There were no reported injuries in the blast and subsequent fire, which prompted the government to close the 120,000 barrels-a-day refinery for at least 30 days.

Early investigations by operator Bangchak Petroleum suggested the blast was caused by an oil or gas leak at around 7:30 am (0030 GMT), according to the company's president Anusorn Sangnimnuan.

"There are no injuries. We assume oil or gas leaked out and somehow it caught fire," he told reporters, adding that the blaze was under control by mid-morning.

"I don't think the cause was human error, it was caused by equipment."

Emergency services said there had been no casualties, but Bangkok authorities distributed masks to thousands of nearby residents to prevent smoke inhalation.

Responding to the blast, which woke residents and sent a plume of acrid smoke into the sky, Industry Minister Pongsawat Sawadiwat said the refinery will be shut for at least a month.

"Initially the refinery will be shut down for 30 days to investigate the cause of fire," he said, adding that health officials will check risks of respiratory damage among the local community.

The Bangchak oil refinery, which employs around 600 people, is located in a large industrial estate in a sprawling suburb.

It is among the country's biggest refineries with 120,000 barrels of oil processed at the site every day, a company official told AFP. - AFP

Perdana Petroleum subsidiary gets Murphy contract worth RM86m

Perdana Petroleum Bhd’s subsidiary has secured a contract worth RM86 million from Murphy Sabah/ Sarawak Oil Co Ltd (Murphy) to supply one anchor handling tug supply vessel.

The company said on Thursday that the contract secured by Perdana Nautika Sdn Bhd was to support Murphy’s 2012/2014 Shallow Water Drilling Programme.

It said the contract was for a period of two years with an extension option of an additional year, effective from 27 June 2012.

Perdana Petroleum said the contract was expected to its earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2012 and the financial periods thereafter for the duration of the Contract

Petronas inks new PSC with Talisman, Carigali to recover oil off Sabah

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has as inked  a new Production Sharing Contract PSC with Talisman Malaysia Ltd and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for recovery of crude oil from the Kinabalu Fields located offshore Sabah, East Malaysia.

In a statement Monday, Petronas said the PSC was the first awarded under the new, innovative Progressive Volume-Based (PVB) fiscal terms designed by Petronas to offer value-added incentives for the development and production of matured oil fields in Malaysia.

“In particular, the PVB terms provide progressive profit sharing to provide incentive to contractors to improve oil recovery and increase production as the risks of developing and producing from matured fields become progressively higher over the lifetime of the field,” it said.

Petronas said that under the terms of the PSC, both Talisman Malaysia and Petronas Carigali were committed to investing over US$1 billion towards various activities in the contract area, including achieving early production gains, improving operational efficiency and addressing subsurface issues.

“Additionally, the two partners are also to focus on field redevelopment efforts with a view to realising improved oil recovery potential as well as committing to an enhanced oil recovery pilot initiative,” it said.

The national oil company said Talisman Malaysia would be the operator of the PSC area with a 60% participating interest and is expected to leverage on its experience and expertise in operating matured fields worldwide.

Gebeng dan santau radioaktif

By Hishamuddin Rais | Yahoo! Malaysia Newsroom

Naratif dan jalan cerita kilang santau radioaktif Lynas ini wajib didengar sekali lagi. Pada hemat saya, kisah santau di Gebeng ini bermula di zaman Abdullah Badawi. Hingga ke hari ini umum masih belum mengetahui siapa yang telah melobi pentabiran Abdullah Badawi untuk membawa masuk kilang santau ini. Tukang lobi ini pasti sedar bahawa dalam suasana pentabiran yang 'ngantuk' pasti tandatangan Abdullah dapat dilicinkan dengan senang untuk melecok pelulusan kilang santau ini.

Pentabiran Abdulah Badawi yang sibuk dengan pelbagai jenis koridor telah mengarahkan syarikat santau nadir bumi ini untuk menemui Menteri Besar, Idris Jusuh di Terengganu. Telok Kalung - kawasan indah di tepi laut - didaerah Kemaman telah dikenal pasti sebagai daerah yang amat sesuai untuk kilang santau radioaktif ini beroperasi.

Disini, saya mencadangkan agar warga Terengganu dan rakyat Malaysia memberi tabik penghormatan dan berterima kasih kepada Idris Jusuh. Sebusuk-busuk Idris Jusuh, dia juga memiliki hati nurani yang baik. Selama tiga tahun kertas cadangan pembukaan syarikat santau ini terdampar di meja MB. Tiga tahun cadangan ini tidak dipedulikan. Yang Berhormat Idris Jusuh sedar tentang bahaya dan malapetaka yang akan menimpa warga Terengganu jika kilang ini dibenarkan beroperasi. Justeru, Idris Jusuh tidak ambil pot dan tidak melayan sang pelobi ini.

Kerana gagal di Terengganu, maka sang pelobi telah beralih ke Pahang. Menteri Besar Adnan Yacob yang memiliki bahasa tangan yang cekap, melihat syarikat santau ini sebagai peluang yang baik. Dua minggu sebelum PRU12 yang lalu, MB Pahang ini telah membenarkan Lynas Corporation Ltd, syarikat cari gali nadir bumi yang beribu pejabat di Australia untuk membuka kilang memproses nadir bumi di kawasan perindustrian Gebeng Pahang.

Semua ini belaku tanpa diketahui ramai. Semua ini berjalan dengan senyap lagi sunyi. Projek diluluskan ketika seluruh rakyat Malaysia sedang sibuk berkempen untuk pilihan raya. Kemudian rakyat Malaysia sibuk pula merayakan kejayaan Pakatan Rakyat. Dalam senyap-senyap ini, rupa-rupanya satu 'bom jangka' yang bernilai RM2.5 bilion sedang dipasang di Gebeng.

Untuk memahami apa dia nadir bumi, kita wajib kembali 30 tahun ke belakang. Pada tahun 1979, kerajaan telah meluluskan kebenaran kepada syarikat Asian Rare Earth Sdn Bhd untuk membuka kilang di Bukit Merah Perak. Syarikat ini juga bergerak dengan licik dan bijak.

Syarikat Mitsubishi Chemical Industries milik Jepun ini telah bersubahat dengan Lembaga Urusan Tabung Haji. Usahasama ini bertujuan untuk mengolah persetujuan agar orang Melayu senyap - jangan bersuara - kerana ada syarikat agama Islam, mereka akan bertimbun-timbun membuat duit.

Pada tahun 1982 warga daerah Papan di Parit, Perak telah mula sedar bahawa kawasan mereka telah dipilih untuk menanamkam sisa dari loji kilang ini. Kilang ini beroperasi di Kampong Baru Bukit Merah. Kawasan perumahan masyarakat Cina dan Syarikat Tabung Haji dipilih secara strategik. Tabung Haji dipilih untuk menyedapkan hati orang Melayu. Bukit Merah dipilih kerana kawasan perumahan  orang China. Inilah strategi licik yang dirancang dengan rapi oleh syarikat santau radioaktif dari Jepun ini.

Apa sebenarnya nadir bumi? Orang Melayu awal-awal dahulu memanggil ini amang - satu panggilan yang salah. Logam bijih nadir bumi tersimpan dalam perut bumi dan perlu digali untuk mendapatkannya. Manakala amang ditemui bersama bijih timah. Logam nadir bumi ini diperlukan untuk bateri, mentol lampu, ipone, bom cerdik dan boleh digunakan dalam pelbagai teknologi terkini.

Bijih logam ini tidak merbahaya. Ianya bukan santau. Tetapi apabila logam ini diproses akan muncul sama thorium dan uranium. Dua bahan ini wujud bersama nadir bumi ini. Sisa-sisa dari memproses logam inilah yang mengandungi santau radioaktif.. Santau thorium dan santau uranium amat bahaya untuk manusia, binatang, tanaman dan untuk muka bumi ini.

Kenapa saya menulis dan menggunakan 'santau' dihadapan perkataan radioaktif. Ini bertujuan untuk memberi ingatan kolektif kepada orang Melayu. Masyarakat Melayu selama ini telah dibebalkan dari memahami bahaya kilang Lynas ini. Media Melayu telah membodohkan orang Melayu tanpa memberi mereka pengetahuan yang betul tentang santau ini. Justeru, dengan menggunakan perkataan 'santau' maka diharapkan orang Melayu akan sedar bahawa radioaktif ini memiliki watak seperti santau.

Santau dalam budaya pemahaman orang Melayu boleh bergerak melalui angin. Santau juga boleh bergerak didalam air. Justeru santau dan radioaktif ini memiliki watak dan ciri-ciri yang sama. Apabila radioaktif ini dikahwinkan dengan perkataan santau ini, diharapkan masyarakat Melayu yang selama ini dibodohkan akan dapat memahami marabahaya dihadapan mereka.

Berbanding dengan masyarakat China dimana media Tionghua cukup arif menerangkan bahaya santau ini. Juga masyarakat China di Papan dan di Bukit Merah telah pernah menjadi mangsa santau radioaktif ini. Mereka telah melihat anak-anak mereka lahir cacat. Mereka telah melihat ramainya anak-anak mereka yang tinggal dikawasan pembuangan sisa kilang di Bukit Merah telah mendapat barah leukemia.

Masyarakat China, 30 tahun dahulu telah bangun menentang kilang Asia Rare Earth di Papan. Perjuangan yang panjang ini akhirnya berjaya apabila mahkamah mengarahkan kilang ini ditutup pada tahun 1994.

Hari ini - 30 tahun kemudian - duit rakyat Malaysia sebanyak RM 300 juta telah digunakan untuk membersihkan tempat simpanan sisa nadir bumi ini. Kilang ini telah dimusnahkan, tetapi sisa santau ini akan terus wujud untuk beratus-ratus tahun. Pada ketika ini, kawasan ini telah menjadi kawasan larangan yang dipagar. Tetapi santau radioaktif masih lagi boleh bergerak melalui udara dan air. Towkay Jepun ini telah telah selamat pulang untuk berendut dengan Geisha di Tokyo. Yang tinggal menerima padah ialah warga Bukit Papan.

Orang ramai pasti menjadi hairan dan pelik. Jika santau radioaktif ini merbahaya, kenapa Menteri Besar Pahang dan kerajaan Malaysia memberi kebenaran kepada Lynas Corporation Ltd untuk mendirikan kilang nadir bumi yang terbesar dalam dunia?

Ada macam-macam teori yang tersebar dari mulut  ke mulut, kenapa kilang santau ini dibenarkan beroperasi. Seperti biasa, Pak Cik Nelayan dan Mak Cik Nasi Lemak di Gebeng akan berkata "...ada yang dah buat duit..." Siapa yang buat duit dan dari mana duit ini datang tidak pula jelas. Tapi inilah labon cerita orang-orang kampong.

Apa yang terbukti sahih ialah syarikat Australia ini pasti akan membuat duit kerana selama 12 tahun ianya tidak perlu membayar cukai. Ini sebahagian dari penjanjian yang telah diikat. Kenapa syarikat ini tidak membayar cukai? Hanya Sang Patin dalam Sungai Pahang sahaja yang maha mengetahui..

Selain dari berita pelik - tak bayar cukai ini - ada lagi satu berita yang amat-amat pelik. Biasanya Jabatan Alam Sekitar perlu membuat kajian sebelum apa-apa projek diluluskan. Entah kerana beruk mana yang amat berkuasa, sehinggakan laporan dari Jabatan Alam Sekitar ini tidak diperlukan untuk kilang santau ini. Bunyinya memelikan, tetapi inilah tanda Malaysia Boleh.

Semua yang berlaku ini telah diperhatikan secara desas-desus oleh orang-orang kampong di sekitar Gebeng, Balok dan Cherating. Kilang ini letaknya tidak berapa jauh dari pantai Cherating dan pantai Balok. Cherating  terkenal dengan Club Med-nya manakala Balok adalah kawasan yang pantainya menjadi idaman warga kota di hujung minggu. Orang kampong dan nelayan di Balok hanya berlabon kosong, kerana mereka tidak arif dalam hal santau-menyantau.

Akhirnya, berita kilang santau di Gebeng ini 'meletup'. Pada bulan Mac dan Jun 2011, akhbar The New York Times yang amat berpengaruh di Amerika telah membocorkan berita loji terbesar dalam dunia ini sedang dibuat. Tiba-tiba Lynas menjadi buah mulut bukan sahaja di Malaysia, malah melimpah ke Australia dan ke seluruh dunia.

Dengan tidak semena-mena harga nilai tanah mula merundum di Kuantan. Tiba-tiba kelihatan banyak tercacak papan tanda - to rent or to sell - di hadapan rumah-rumah mewah di Kuantan. Berita dari akhbar Amerika ini menjadikan warga Kuantan dan sekitarnya gelisah.

Kumpulan masyarakat sivil dan beberapa NGO alam sekitar mula membuat bantahan. Kisah kilang santau Lynas mula didengar di Parlimen. Kerajaan Barisan Nasional yang semakin mengecut sokongon dari para pengundi menjadi gelabah. Sekali lagi orang ramai teringat akan mangsa kilang Rare Earth di Bukit Merah. Kegelishan dan ketakutan orang ramai ini telah diterjemahkan kepada beberapa tunjuk perasaan menentang kilang santau Lynas.

Seperti biasa kerajaan mula menjalankan beberapa taktik untuk mengolah persetujuan dan mententeramkan hati penduduk di Gebeng dan Kuantan. Tiba-tiba arahan diberikan untuk membuat kajian oleh Jabatan Alam Sekitar. Agensi Nuklear Malaysia juga memberi pandangan. Jawatankuasa Khas Parlimen juga ditubuhkan. Semua ini tidak meyakinkan penduduk di Gebeng dan Kuantan bahawa kilang santau ini tidak merbahaya. Penduduk di Gebeng dan Kuantan melihat semua ini sebagai  sandiwara.

Pada 26 Februari tahun ini, seramai 20,000 anak semua bangsa dari seluruh Malaysia telah datang untuk bersetia kawan dengan warga Gebeng. Ini adalah satu perhimpunan anti-Lynas yang paling besar pernah diadakan di Kuantan. Gerakan anti-Lynas yang disusun oleh Himpunan HIjau.

Mereka telah juga bekerjasama dengan BERSIH 3.0 pada 28 April yang lalu. Berpuluh ribu penyokong Himpuan Hijau telah sama berdemo dengan penyokong Bersih 3.0.

Perdana Menteri Najib Razak sedar bahawa sokongan dari pengundi Cina semakin merosot. Gerakan anti-Lynas ini sedang membarah dan sedang mengancam banyak kerusi DUN dan Parlimen di Pahang.

Ketika tulisan ini sedang digarap, kerajaan Barisan Nasional  telah memberikan lesen sementara kepada Lynas Coperation Ltd dengan syarat, sisa dari kilang ini akan dibawa pulang ke Australia, atau syarikat ini menyediakan satu kawasan yang selamat dimana sisa santau radioaktif ini akan ditanamkan.

Untuk sementara waktu ini, dengan pilihan raya yang akan diadakan tidak lama lagi, mustahil kilang santau ini akan beroperasi. Jika kilang ini mula beroperasi bermakna Najib Razak ingin membunuh diri. Ini kerana Pakatan Rakyat secara terbuka telah menyatakan bahawa jika Pakatan Rakyat mengambil alih pentabiran Malaysia, kilang santau ini akan ditutup.

Kelihatan pertempuran antara pemegang saham syarikat Australia ini dengan warga Gebeng 'terhenti' untuk sementara. Tetapi persoalan hakiki masih belum di jawab. Jika kilang santau nadir bumi ini selamat, mengapa kerajaan Australia tidak membenarkan kilang ini dibuka di Australia sendiri. Walhal, Australia, sebuah benua memiliki kawasan tanah yang beratus kali ganda luasnya dari Malaysia.

Inilah soalan hakiki yang amat menakutkan warga di Gebeng. Inilah mimpi ngeri yang membuatkan ramai warga Kuantan mula ingin berpindah. Soalan ini belum mendapat jawapan yang tuntas. Malah soalan ini juga memerlukan jawapan untuk seluruh warga Malaysia.

Brooke Dockyard bids for RM500 mln Murphy Oil job project

The nation’s oldest shipyard, Brooke Dockyard, is eyeing a RM500 million project from Murphy Oil to construct three oil platform structures.

Thus far, it has secured part of the project worth RM90 million.

This RM90 million initiative is for building the basic foundation of the platform, while work on the rest of the platform will be determined by Murphy Oil soon.

Infrastructure and Communication Development Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyin said this at a press conference after the launching of Brooke Dockyard’s new office at Sejingkat Friday.

Manyin said Brooke Dockyard had also secured a RM12 million project to construct a 45m-long landing craft boat for the Marine Department.

On another matter, Manyin said there were no plans to privatise Brooke Dockyard at the moment.

“There is no such plan as Brooke Dockyard is doing well, and the state government is happy with the company,” he said, adding that the company had provided ample job opportunities to people living in and around Sejingkat and Demak Laut.

Meanwhile, Broke Dockyard chairman Datuk Abang Abdul Karim Tun Openg, in his speech, said their new building could accommodate 80 workers. It is equipped with a centralised public address system, close circuit television camera (CCTV), a surau, conference room, and state-of-the art equipment.

Also present were Brooke Dockyard’s technical advisor Zuraimi Sabki and acting general manager Norizan Sazali.

Petronas Agrees To Buy Canada’s Progress Energy

Petroliam Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s state-owned oil and natural-gas company, agreed to buy Progress Energy Resources Corp. (PRQ) for C$4.8 billion ($4.6 billion), in its biggest deal as it moves to export Canadian gas to Asia.

Petronas, as the Kuala Lumpur-based company is known, offered C$20.45-a-share for Progress Energy, 77 percent more than its close before the deal. Including convertible debentures, the deal is valued at about C$5.5 billion, Calgary- based Progress Energy said in a statement yesterday.

Buying the company gives Petronas Chief Executive Officer Shamsul Azhar Abbas ownership of the largest holder in the Montney shale-gas area of British Columbia and full control of the three Progress Energy fields it bought a stake in last year as it explores development of a liquefied natural gas export terminal. Asian buyers have been lured to North America by gas prices that are about 88 percent cheaper.

“The proposed transaction will combine Petronas’s significant global expertise and leadership in developing LNG infrastructure with Progress’s extensive experience in unconventional resource development,” Datuk Anuar Ahmad, executive vice president of Petronas’s gas and power business, said in the statement.

Asian Investment

Progress Energy rose 74 percent to C$20.05 at the close yesterday in Toronto. It’s a record gain for the company, which had dropped 13 percent this year.

Petronas joins Asian peers including PetroChina Co., Mitsubishi Corp. and Cnooc Ltd. in seeking production in North America. Alberta gas futures prices were $1.93 per million British thermal units on June 27. Japan, the largest LNG importer, paid $16.78 per million Btu including freight costs as of April 30.

Including debt, Petronas is paying 23 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. That’s 66 percent more than the average of 10 comparable deals announced since 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The purchase is more than double the company’s biggest deal, the $2 billion acquisition of a 40 percent stake in Santos Ltd.’s Gladstone LNG project in Australia in 2008.
Progress Energy has 1.9 trillion cubic feet of proved and probable gas reserves and has 820,000 acres in the Montney shale-gas area. Petronas’s Shamsul said March 30 he was studying making an acquisition of more than $5 billion as he wants to expand the company’s presence in Canada and Australia.

LNG Site

The companies said they’ve selected a site at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, for a potential LNG export terminal and will conduct feasibility studies. Petronas joins groups led by Houston-based Apache Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the U.K.’s BG Group Plc in the race to export gas from Canada’s West Coast.

Malaysia was the third-largest exporter of LNG in 2010, after Qatar and Indonesia, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

The board of Progress Energy approved the offer and it has the support of the company’s senior executives and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which hold on aggregate about 25 percent of the company’s shares, according to the statement. The transaction is expected to close Sept. 25, subject to government approval.

Petronas intends to keep all Progress Energy employees, according to yesterday’s statement.

Under the Investment Canada Act, the federal government reviews foreign acquisitions of companies with assets valued at more than C$330 million, according to the Industry Canada website. The government has never rejected a takeover of an energy company.

Precedents Set

“There shouldn’t be any blocks to the deal,” said Michael Harvey, a Calgary-based analyst for RBC Capital Markets. He rates Progress Energy shares outperform, the equivalent of a buy, and owns none. “The shareholders will vote for it and precedents have been set,” he said.

Petronas has the right to match any superior bid for Progress Energy, according to the statement. Petronas would get a C$150 million breakup fee if the deal is terminated.

Petronas was advised by Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit and law firm Norton Rose Canada LLP. Progress Energy was advised by BMO Capital Markets and its board received an independent fairness opinion from Scotia Waterous. Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP is its legal counsel.