Abang Jo S Comments Cast Doubt Over O G Deal With Putrajaya Says Insider

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Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim wants Petronas and Petros to advance as partners, but Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg was silent on future collaborations, an industry insider told FMT. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: An industry insider has cast doubt over whether Putrajaya and Sarawak can resolve their competing claims to oil and gas, saying comments emanating from Kuching have introduced “much uncertainty” into the deal.
The insider, who requested anonymity, said the matter, if not addressed properly, could have a negative impact on Petronas’s finances moving forward.
On Tuesday, the national oil company announced a sharp 32% decline in net profits for 2024, reporting profit after tax of RM55.1 billion, down from RM80.7 billion in the preceding financial year.
Petronas’s financials also revealed that revenue from its gas and maritime segment, which includes liquified natural gas (LNG), stood at RM131.1 billion last year, up from RM127.4bil in 2023.

Last week, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat that the Sarawak government had reaffirmed the primacy of the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA), acknowledging Petronas’s exclusive ownership of all oil and gas resources throughout the country.
He said the agreement will also see Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) appointed sole aggregator of gas in the state.
According to Anwar, Sarawak will receive up to 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to meet its domestic needs, “with guarantees for additional supply based on future requirements”.
However, in a statement issued the following day, Abang Johari said Sarawak also intends to request the right to explore for gas in areas off its coast and in the continental shelf.
“Needless to say that will eat into Petronas’s own resources and will likely send its revenues and profits tumbling further.
In his statement, the Sarawak premier also confirmed that Petronas’s “existing contracts” will continue in force but said they must align with Sarawak’s regulatory framework.
“That demand is bound to create more uncertainty. It immediately calls into question Petronas’s entire operations in Sarawak,” the insider said.
The insider said the Sarawak premier’s demands may also impact Petronas’s LNG exports.
“Abang Johari said nothing about potential new business — particularly export business — that Petronas may secure,” the insider pointed out.
He also did not address how future projects will be pursued, the insider added.
“In his statement, Anwar called for Petronas and Petros to work closely moving forward. Curiously, Abang Johari was silent on future collaborations.”
Petronas was established in 1974 under the PDA, as part of Malaysia’s efforts to assert control over its oil and gas resources.
According to the company, between 1976 and 2017, it contributed RM1.2 trillion to the national economy.
In the Dewan Rakyat last week, the prime minister commended the national oil company for “fulfilling the nation’s mandate” and being its “major revenue generator for nearly half a century”.
In 2017, Sarawak established Petros to gain more control over its resources.
Over the past year, the state has pressed hard for Petronas to ink a deal that would make Petros the sole gas aggregator in the state. - FMT

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