Sarawak's Petros has been officially formed

The Sarawak wholly-owned oil and gas company or Petros has been officially formed, the Chief Minister, Datuk Amar Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg announced here last night.

“Tonight, I want to tell you that we have officially formed our oil company, Petros,” the Chief Minister, to the applause of the crowd said in his address to ministers, staff members of his ministries and office during an appreciation dinner organised by his office at a leading hotel here, last night.

He said all the board members of the company had been appointed and pointed out that they were drawn from among Sarawakian professionals with wide experience in the oil and gas industry and that none of them were politicians.

Petronas secures another block in Mexico

Petronas subsidiary PC Carigali Mexico Operations, SA de CV, has been awarded shallow-water Block 6 in the Gulf of Mexico’s Salina Basin.

The national oil company said in a statement that Block 6 covered an area of about 559 sq km in water depths of between 30 and 80 metres.

The block will be operated by PC Carigali Mexico in a 50:50 partnership with Ecopetrol, the national oil company of Colombia.

Petronas executive vice president and chief executive officer (upstream) Datuk Anuar Taib said: “I am pleased with our new partnership with Ecopetrol and I am confident this will bring together our capabilities and expertise for a successful collaboration in the Mexico waters.”

Last year, Petronas was awarded deep-water Block 4 and Block 5 in a joint-venture partnership following Mexico’s first ever auction of its deep water exploration areas.

Govt plans to train advanced NDT experts

Non-destructive testing (NDT) is an important field in engineering and science that can save time and money in product testing and research, but Malaysia has fewer than 20 experts in advanced methods in the field.

However, Malaysian Nuclear Agency senior director of commercialisation & technology planning programmes Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamed Hashim hopes the agency will be able to start a training programme in advanced NDT techniques within three to five years.

“NDT can test materials for defects, leaks or corrosion without ruining the sample or having to shut (a system) down,” he said, adding that shutting a critical system down for even one day could cost a company millions.

He said the Skills Development Department (JPK) is developing a national occupational skill standard (NOSS) for an advanced NDT programme.

Gas Malaysia raises natural gas prices

Gas Malaysia Bhd has revised up the natural gas tariff for Peninsular Malaysia’s non-power sector to an average base tariff of RM28.05 per MMBtu (one million British thermal units).

However, a government subsidy will lead to lower effective tariff rates for all tariff categories for the period from July 1 to Dec 31, 2017, compared with the existing rates.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the gas distributor said  the Government, through the Energy Commission, had approved on Friday for Gas Malaysia to effect the revision for the six-month period.

The Government has prescribed the incentive based regulation (IBR) framework, which sets the base tariffs for a period of three years from January 2017 and allows changes in the gas costs to be passed through via the Gas Cost Pass Through (GCPT) mechanism every six months.

Malaysia’s oil and gas industry on the road to recovery

There is optimism that the nation’s oil and gas industry is on the road to recovery, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“If 2016 was the ‘year of tough decisions’ for the oil and gas industry, then 2017 could well be the year for the road to recovery,” he said when launching the 16th Oil and Gas Asia 2017 Exhibition.

He cited the examples of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ market forecast and recent survey by Reuters that Brent crude oil could average US$58.20 (RM250.12) per barrel this year as examples of positive signs for the industry.

“The interim Q4 (fourth quarter) and FY (financial year) of Malaysia’s state giant Petronas noted a 12% year-on-year growth in profit after tax despite revenues that were some 17% lower,” he said.

One killed in Bintulu tanker explosion

An oil tanker burst into flames in a horrific accident at the Medan Jaya traffic lights in front of Bintulu Medical Centre around 11am, Monday.

Based on unofficial statement, one person was killed, after the tanker collided with a pickup truck that resulted in three other vehicles being burnt in the accident.

Ten firefighters in one fire engine were rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call at 11.53am.

As of press time, the flames have been brought under control.

The authorities are now in the process of trying to identify the burnt victim.

China Petroleum to build olefins storage units in Pengerang for Petronas

A consortium of China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) & CPP Petroleum Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd has been signed on to build additional olefins storage units in Pengerang for Petroliam Nasional Bhd's unit.

Petronas said on its unit PRPC Refinery & Cracker Sdn Bhd (PRPC RC) recently signed the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract for the facilities within the Pengerang Integrated Complex.

The national oil company said the consortium would undertake the EPCC for four 1,750MT butadiene bullet tanks; four 2,500MT propylene sphere tanks; and one 12,000MT double-walled cryogenic ethylene tank.

“The construction of the butadiene bullet tanks is expected to be completed by end 2018, while the propylene sphere tanks and the cryogenic ethylene tanks are scheduled to be ready by end Q1 and Q3 2019, respectively,” it said. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Damansara Realty secures RM26mln contract for Petronas' Pengerang project

Damansara Realty Bhd has bagged a RM26.21 million contract to provide security management services for Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Pengerang, Johor.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia
, the company said the contract can be extended to include additional services worth RM9.77 million.

It said Petronas subsidiary PRPC Utilities and Facilities Sdn Bhd awarded the contract to a consortium comprising Damansara Realty’s subsidiary TMR Urusharta (M) Sdn Bhd (TMR), ACME Security Sdn Bhd and AHS Security Sdn Bhd.

It said under the terms of the contract, the consortium will operate and maintain security for utilities, interconnecting and offsite facilities at RAPID, the second mega project in Johor’s Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex, which is slated to be the region’s largest oil and gas hub.

Sarawak tubuh Petros bagi cari gali minyak dan gas

Syarikat cari gali minyak dan gas luar pantai milik Sarawak akan memulakan operasinya dalam masa enam bulan lagi, Ketua Menteri Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.

Katanya, Petroleum Sarawak (Petros), 100 peratus milik kerajaan negeri, akan bekerjasama dengan syarikat minyak nasional, Petronas,

Pengumuman itu dibuat ketika Sarawak menuntut royalti minyak yang lebih tinggi daripada kerajaan persekutuan.

Bernama turut memetik Abang Johari, sebagai berkata, perkara berkaitan pelaburan awal syarikat itu masih dibincang, tetapi Petros akan memulakan operasinya dalam masa enam bulan lagi.

Beliau berkata keuntungan yang diraih akan dikongsi antara kerajaan negeri dan Petronas berdasarkan ekuiti.

JX Nippon produces first gas from Layang field, offshore Sarawak

JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation’s subsidiary, JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration (Malaysia) Limited, is the operator of Block SK10 offshore Sarawak, Malaysia, with a participating interest of 75%, where the Layang field is located. Petronas is its partner with the remaining 25% interest.

The field is located approximately 7 km east of the producing Helang Gas Field in Block SK10.

Natural gas produced from Layang field, together with natural gas from Helang gas field, will be supplied through subsea pipelines to the MLNG Tiga Sdn. Bhd. liquefaction plant in Bintulu, Sarawak, which is partly owned by JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation. The natural gas will be sold as LNG after liquefaction to its customers including buyers in Japan.

The initial production of natural gas and condensate from Layang field is estimated about 12,000 boed.