Tekanan kos dorong penggabungan industri minyak & gas

Kerisauan oleh syarikat-syarikat perkhidmatan sokongan sektor minyak dan gas (O&G) terhadap peningkatan kos operasi dan tenaga buruh, dilihat mampu membuatkan mereka mengambil langkah untuk melakukan pengambilalihan dan penggabungan (M&A) bagi terus kekal di dalam sektor itu.

Beberapa syarikat perkhidmatan itu ketika ini telah menyuarakan masalah mereka berhubung kekurangan tenaga kerja, sekali gus menyebabkan gaji yang terpaksa dibayar untuk mengekalkan tenaga kerja meningkat, khususnya tenaga kerja berkemahiran tinggi.

Sinopec inks purchase pacts with Petronas' Canadian subsidiaries

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has secured China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) (pic) as the latest buyer for its Canadian-based Pacific Northwest Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) project.

The national oil company said in a statement yesterday that its subsidiaries, Progress Energy Canada Ltd and Pacific NorthWest LNG Ltd, had signed transaction agreements with Sinopec.

The deal will see the Chinese company’s affiliates acquiring a 15% interest in Progress Energy’s LNG destined gas reserves in northeast British Columbia and in Pacific NorthWest’s proposed LNG export facility on Canada’s West Coast.

Perolehan Petronas Chemical RM15.202b

Petronas Chemical Group Berhad (PCG) mencatatkan perolehan sebanyak RM15.202 bilion bagi tahun kewangan berakhir 31 Disember 2013, susut lapan peratus berbanding RM16.599 bilion yang dicatatkan tempoh sama tahun sebelumnya.

Keuntungan sebelum cukai syarikat turut menyusut sedikit kepada RM4.547 bilion berbanding RM4.550 bilion pada 2012. Sementara keuntungan selepas cukai pula ialah RM3.504 bilion susut sembilan peratus berbanding RM3.837 bilion pada 2012.

'Yes' to Petronas stake move

Several Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Sabah are all for suggestions that the State Government seek a stake in Petronas - including a permanent place on the Board - instead of endlessly clamouring for higher oil royalty but getting nowhere.

They believe it is timely for Sabah to receive higher returns on its contribution to the country when its natural resources had been exploited for so long and developed.

Oil Royalty Agreement Can Be Re-Negotiated : Sabah's Chief Minister

The oil royalty agreement Sabah signed with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) on June 14, 1976 can be reviewed or re-negotiated in line with the current changes and needs, said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

Musa said all discussions could be discussed with the consent of both parties.

"There are various channels available for the state and federal governments to discuss issues based on power-sharing, inclusivity and agreement by all," he said.

Musa said this when winding-up debate on the royalty issue at the Sabah State Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

The Chief Minister said although the royalty was set at five per cent, the state has enjoyed an almost 30 per cent increase within five years, from RM750.9 million in 2008 to RM975.3 million in 2013.

He said Petronas has also invested in several mega projects in Sabah, among them the RM18 billion Sabah Oil And Gas Terminal and the RM30.6 billion Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park where Sabah Ammonia Urea project was under construction.

"These investments would not only change the landscape of Sabah's development but would also provide jobs, boost business opportunities and increase the quality of life.

He added managing petroleum-related operations was no easy task.

"Mega projects pose technical and financial challenges and only big players in the industry have the expertise and strong financial resources to undertake them," he said.

Musa said drilling activities involved high costs and could only be undertaken by the industry's leading oil companies like Shell, ExxonMobil and Murphy Oil.

"To reduce the financial risks arising from uncertainties in oil drilling, Petronas has signed production-sharing contracts with these oil firms.

-- BERNAMA

Canada Approves 4 LNG Export Licenses on Pacific Coast including to Petronas

The Canadian government said it has approved four, long-term licenses to export liquefied natural gas from proposed projects on the country's west coast.

The licenses, which had received approval from Canada's National Energy Board in December, are for LNG exports from proposed Pacific Coast terminals backed by Exxon Mobil Corp., BG Group PLC and Malaysian state-owned energy giant Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas.

None of the proposed projects have been built or even formally approved by their sponsors.

The government said in a statement that the licenses will allow for the export of up to 73.38 million metric tons of LNG a year.

Western Canada is aiming to become a major global supplier of LNG by matching rising demand in Asia with abundant supplies of gas in North America.

Specifically, Canada said it has approved export licenses for the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG, Prince Rupert LNG, WCC LNG and Woodfibre LNG terminals.

When the NEB approved the 25-year licenses in December, Canada's then Minister of Natural Resources, Joe Oliver, said the government would "review" NEB decisions related to the granting of LNG export licenses.

PBJV bags 282km pipeline job near Malaysia-Thai border

Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd has secured a contract from GOM Resources Sdn Bhd to provide pre-commission services for a 28-inch 282km pipeline.

It said on Monday the pipeline would stretch from Kerteh in Terengganu towards the border of Malaysia/Thailand joint development area.

Talisman eyes offshore block in Malaysia

Calgary-based Talisman Energy is understood to be eyeing the acquisition of another asset offering near-term production potential in Malaysia from US independent Murphy Oil, having already been tipped as the front-runner to land two other significant blocks off Vietnam and Malaysia.

Sources said Talisman is among those expressing interest in taking over Murphy Oil’s Block PM311, off Peninsular Malaysia.

Malaysia set to boost oil storage business

Malaysia’s biggest commercial oil storage facility will start operations today when it receives its first fuel shipment, expanding South-East Asia’s share in the oil storage business and also raising competition with neighbouring Singapore.

The US$600mil (RM1.9bil) oil storage terminal with a capacity of 1.28 million cu m in Pengerang, Johor would receive a clean oil product shipment today morning, Dialog Group Bhd, one of the owners of the terminal, confirmed to Reuters in an email.

Dialog slips on concerns over Tanjung Langsat Port legal suit

Dialog Group Bhd's share price fell early Friday on investor concerns over a notice of arbitration filed by Tanjung Langsat Port Sdn Bhd (TLP) over the oil terminal project in Johor.

On Thursday, Dialog said its unit Dialog E&C Sdn Bhd had received a notice of arbitration TLP for arbitral proceedings under the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract dated Oct 18, 2006 and a settlement agreement dated May 13, 2011.

Gebeng sebagai hab petrokimia - PM

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata, Kompleks Aroma Bersepadu BASF Petronas Chemicals Sdn. Bhd. di sini yang dibangunkan dengan pelaburan RM1.5 bilion mampu meletakkan Gebeng sebagai sebuah pusat industri kimia bernilai tinggi di rantau Asia Pasifik.

Menurut Perdana Menteri, apabila beroperasi pada 2016 kelak, adalah diharapkan kompleks itu mampu menarik lebih banyak pelaburan termasuk dalam industri sokongan selain menjana pelbagai peluang pekerjaan dan perniagaan yang memberi manfaat besar kepada negara dan Pahang khususnya.

Seadrill offers 230m SapuraKencana shares for sale

SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd’s second largest shareholder, Seadrill Ltd, has reduced its stake in Malaysia’s biggest independent oil and gas contractor by offering up to 230 million shares at the market’s close yesterday.

In a placement done via a book-building exercise, the shares were priced at RM4.30 each, valuing the deal at RM989mil.

Petronas Chemical and BASF to invest RM1.5bil in Gebeng complex

Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PCG) and BASF Nederland BV have agreed to invest RM1.5bil in an integrated aroma ingredients complex in Gebeng, Kuantan.

They received the green light from the board of the joint-venture company BASF-Petronas Chemicals Sdn Bhd (BPC).

BASF Nederland BV is a totally-owned subsidiary of German chemicals maker BASF SE in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing, PCG said the joint-venture company would develop a citral and precursor plant complex.

The new project involves the development of a new complex that will be integrated with BPC’s existing facilities in Gebeng, which produces acrylic monomers, oxo products and butanediol. The announcement was first made in April 2013.

The investment also includes the development of a new plant to manufacture Citronellol and L-menthol. It will be developed in phases with the first plant expected to come on stream in 2016. The investment by both parties in the project will be in accordance with their respective shareholdings in BPC with BASF having a 60% shareholding and Petronas the remaining 40%.

The investment will enable the parties to meet the global growing demand in the flavour and fragrance industry, especially in Asia.

At the same time, it will also allow them to meet the globally growing demand of customers in the flavour and fragrance industry, especially in Asia.

Accident during Tapis loadout

Dockwise-owned Black Marlin installation vessel listed when loading the 18,000-tonne topsides of ExxonMobil’s Tapis R platform at MMHE Pasir Gudang yard on 26 March. No damage to the deck or vessel is reported. It is not yet known how the accident will affect the first gas schedule 1H2014.

Petronas launches hull for FLNG vessel

Malaysia’s state-run Petronas has launched the hull for what it claims will be the world’s first floating liquefied natural gas facility.

Petronas launched the hull of its PFLNG-1 vessel at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering’s shipyard in Okpo, South Korea, on 5 April.

Petronas splits exploration, production unit to enhance ownership, accountability

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is splitting its exploration and production (E&P) division into domestic and international segments to make the businesses more focused and accountable, sources said, adding that the oil giant was benchmarking this move against what Shell, ExxonMobil and Total had done recently.

Previously, Petronas’ E&P unit had not clearly demarcated its international and domestic operations.

RAPID : Johor ikrar kerjasama dengan Petronas

Kerajaan negeri akan memberi kerjasama sepenuhnya kepada Petronas untuk memastikan pembangunan Kompleks Bersepadu Pengerang (KBP) di negeri ini berjalan lancar.

Sambil menyambut baik langkah itu, Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin berkata, pihaknya juga akan memastikan persekitaran projek itu berada dalam suasana kondusif.

Alam Maritim plans to acquire mother ship to support deepwater push

Shaharuddin (left) and Alam Maritim chief financial officer Soffan Affendi Aminudin viewing a model of a diving support vessel.

Alam Maritim Resources Bhd hopes to capture a bigger slice of the RM2bil market for underwater inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) work with the planned acquisition of a US$80mil (RM262mil) modern diving support ship.

Group executive director and chief operating officer Shaharuddin Rahmad said the company had already identified the target vessel, which it intended to operate with a joint-venture partner.

Petronas' Rapid gets RM89bil investment, one-year delay

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has green-lit its much-awaited final investment decision (FID) for the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) in south Johor with a commitment of US$27bil (RM88.56bil), but the project will start up a year later than expected in 2019.

The FID marks a "significant milestone" for PIC, of which the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) is a key component, Petronas said in a statement yesterday.

MIDA targets more investors for Malaysia's oil and gas sector

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) targets to attract more foreign investors to the country's oil and gas (O&G) sector on the bid to turn the country into Asia Pacific's O&G hub by 2017.

Chief executive officer Datuk Azman Mahmud said: "Today alone we are meeting about seven potential investors mainly from the US and Europe.

UMS, Timor-Leste Tandatangani MoU Kerjasama Latihan Industri Minyak Dan Gas

Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) dan Kementerian Sumber Petroleum dan Mineral Timor Leste dan Kementerian Pelajarannya Rabu menandatangani memorandum Persafahaman (MoU) berhubung kerjasama dalam latihan industri berkaitan minyak dan gas.

Melalui MoU itu, UMS akan memberikan latihan kemahiran dalam industri minyak dan gas bagi peserta terpilih dari Timor-Leste. MoU itu membolehkan 30 pelajar Timor-Leste melanjutkan pengajian untuk mendapatkan sijil dan diploma sebagai kumpulan pertama di universiti itu.

UMS diwakili Naib Canselornya Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Harun Abdullah manakala Timor-Leste diwakili Menteri Pelajarannya Bendito dos Santos Freitas.

Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin dan Perdana Menteri Timor Leste Xanana Gusmao menyaksikan majlis menandatangani MoU itu.

Sebelum itu, Gusmao dianugerahkan Doktor Kehormat dalam Hubungan Antarabangsa oleh UMS dalam majlis konvokesyen peringatan di Dewan Canselor universiti itu di sini.

Mohd Harun dalam ucapan tahniahnya, mengalu-alukan kedatangan 38 anggota delegasi dari Timor-Leste ke UMS, dan berharap ia akan memperkukuhkan hubungan antara kedua belah pihak.

Beliau berkata UMS telah memulakan usaha yang bersungguh-sungguh untuk membangunkan tenaga kerja mahir bagi menyokong industri yang sentiasa berkembang di Sabah.

Bahan kimia tumpah, tahap keselamatan dan operasi Lynas longgar

Kemalangan membabitkan sebuah lori yang membawa muatan produk nadir bumi milik kilang Lynas di Temerloh baru-baru ini menunjukkan tahap piawaian keselamatan syarikat itu tidak ketat dan membahayakan penduduk setempat.

Pengerusi Himpunan Hijau, Wong Tack mengulas insiden berkenaan yang menyebabkan beberapa bekas berisi cecair kimia PrND Cloride terjatuh dan pecah sehingga mengakibatkan jalanraya terpaksa ditutup.

Seven foreign oil majors to tap Malaysia's Oil & Gas potential

SEVEN foreign oil and gas majors are in talks with Malaysia Investment Development Authority (Mida) on expanding or starting operations in Malaysia to further tap into the industry.

Mida chief executive officer Datuk Azman Mahmud said the seven companies consist of existing players who are looking to branch out into the O&G segments, and new ones that see the potential in Malaysia.

MH370: US Court dismisses petition filed against MAS, Boeing

The US Court has dismissed a petition filed on behalf of one of the MH370 passengers against the Boeing Company and Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

MAS said on Tuesday it was advised about the dismissal by the US Court about the request through the courts for information.

Australian based company farms in to Malaysia offshore development

Roc Oil Company Limited, is pleased to announce the farm in to a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) which includes three fields D35, D21 and J4 (Fields), located offshore Malaysia in water depths of approximately 50 metres.

The Fields are currently 100% owned and operated by PETRONAS Carigali and ROC has farmed into a 50% participating interest. The Fields are in production with a combined daily oil rate of approximately 10,000 bopd and gas sales of approximately 17 mmscf/d gross working interest. ROC’s economic interest (50%) of the 2P reserves from the Fields is 8.7 mmboe.

ROC’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Alan Linn said: “The farm in is an excellent fit for our business and in line with our Asian development strategy, we expect the Fields to become cornerstone development assets within our growing regional portfolio. The Fields, particularly D35, contain material in place oil and gas volumes, and overall field recovery is expected to benefit significantly from the introduction of secondary and tertiary recovery technologies.

The fields provide a portfolio of immediately bookable reserves plus contingent and prospective resources, which combined materially add to and extend the reserves and resources life of ROC.

The farm in agreement includes amendments to the existing PSC effective from 1 January 2014 until December 2034. The PSC terms are designed for field redevelopment and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to commercially encourage progressive incremental oil development over the full life of the PSC.

ROC’s experience in the redevelopment of the Zhao Dong fields, offshore Bohai Bay, China, is a good analogy for the redevelopment potential of the Fields.

Timor Leste inviting Malaysia bids for new oil and gas exploration and development

Malaysia hopes to be Timor-Leste’s major partner in the development of the republic and is ready to send Petronas to that country to explore for oil and gas.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Petronas would look at the possibility of taking part in the development of Timor-Leste’s oil and gas industry.

Eyes on Kasawari RM3bil Petronas Carigali job

Malaysia Marine & Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MMHE) and Technip are believed to be “the most likely” candidates to secure a job from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for design and construction of a multi-platform project at the Kasawari field located offshore Sarawak, according to AmResearch.

The Kasawari project is the second such project in the area. known as Block SK316.

Uzma inks contract with Petronas for development and production of petroleum from the Tanjung Baram field

Uzma Bhd confirmed it has entered into a contract with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) to carry out the development and production of petroleum from the Tanjung Baram field.

In a note to Bursa Malaysia, the oil & gas company said its wholly-owned subsidiary company, Uzma Energy Venture (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd, and its partner had entered into the contract, clarifying recent news reports that both were the front runners for the risk service contract (RSC) for the Tanjung Baram field in Sarawak, worth an estimated US$100mil to US$200mil (RM330mil to RM660mil).

Uzma did not reveal any further details, stating that more would be announced once a written consent to release the said announcement had been obtained from Petronas. The group is understood to have teamed up with a British oilfield services firm in its contract bidding.

Earlier this month, analysts had suspected the group’s recent fund-raising exercise was for the RSC award from Petronas.

Kenanga Research analyst Cezzane See believed Uzma’s chances of winning the RSC was strong because the company was a participant in the early studies for some of the marginal fields, which gave it indepth knowledge.

Meanwhile, Petronas Gas Bhd has entered into new gas processing and transmission agreements with parent company Petronas, that will extend its existing contracts by another 20 years to Dec 31, 2033.

SapuraKencana Petroleum's drilling division wins new business worth US$454 mln in West Africa, Thailand and Brunei

SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd announced Tuesday that its wholly-owned drilling subsidiaries overseas had won one new contract and three contract extensions worth a total of US$454mil.

In its filing with Bursa Malaysia, it said Singapore-incorporated SapuraKencana Drilling Pte Ltd had been awarded a contract by Total E&P Congo, of the Republic of Congo, for the provision of its Semi-Tender Assist Drilling Rig, SKD Berani.

Bumi Armada bags its biggest RM9.5bil FPSO job

Bumi Armada Bhd has won its largest floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) job to date for a deepwater oilfield offshore Angola valued at US$2.9bil (RM9.5bil), with the conversion alone likely to cost some US$1.5bil (RM4.91bil).

This exceeds the US$1bil (RM3.27bil) in capital expenditure (capex) Bumi Armada is expected to charge for the Kraken FPSO, which it clinched last November.