Sapura Energy bags RM905m worth of contracts

Sapura Energy Bhd, formerly known as SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd, said it has secured several contracts with a combined value of about RM905 million via its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Sapura Fabrication Sdn Bhd secured three provision of engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contracts.

One of the three contracts is for the Kinarut ERB West Compressor upgrading project for Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, which spans three years till the fourth quarter of 2020. The works entail the replacement and refurbishment of compressors and associated equipment at ERB WEST and Kinarut platforms.

The second contract, also awarded by Petronas Carigali, is for a minor EPCC project at Bokor Betty Brownfield and Rejuvenation for four and a half years, expected to expire in the second quarter of 2022. The job scope comprises Bokor rejuvenation and host tie-in works at existing platforms, as well as redevelopment of platform facilities to support Bokor EOR (enhanced oil recovery) and redevelopment of the two fields.

Petronas sweeps six of 19 blocks awarded in Mexico oil auction

Royal Dutch Shell snapped up nine of 19 Gulf of Mexico oil and gas blocks awarded in a Mexican auction on Wednesday, as the global oil major ramped up its big bet on Latin America's deep waters.

The auction raised an estimated $93 billion in investment for Mexico and was the biggest since the country's energy sector opened to foreign firms in 2014.

The stakes were high for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and his struggling party, which wants to showcase the results of its energy liberalization ahead of a presidential election in July.

With oil prices at a three-year high, conditions were better for this auction than any of the previous eight sales in Mexico since 2015, lending weight to Pena Nieto's argument that opening up the sector would bring the investment needed to turn around a dilapidated state-run oil and gas industry.

Shell bid aggressively despite fears that Pena Nieto, who will not run in July, might be replaced by a leftist leader who may revise the terms of energy contracts.

Barakah starts the year on clean slate

Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd had expected to maintain its profitability in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017 but delays in its Pengerang gas pipeline project in Johor had set the company back almost a year, resulting in losses.

However, vice-president and chief corporate officer Abdul Rahim Awang is keen to put all this behind the company and start 2018 on a clean slate. He anticipates Barakah will return to the black in the first quarter ending March 31.

“Our losses will be reflected over two quarters, mainly from our Pengerang pipeline project and firefighting water system. The work was delayed due to site issues. A portion of the site was not given to us in time to execute so we were not able to connect the system, which runs through the whole area.

“It is now almost completed, but the extension was for almost a year. As a result, the billing was impacted. By this quarter we will clear everything up, and start 2018 on a clean slate.