By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 15: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) and Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (PETROS) are still in discussions to finalise the terms and implementation mechanisms following the signing of a joint declaration on gas distribution between the Sarawak and federal governments nearly three months ago.
According to The Edge Malaysia, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said this in response to Ku Abd Rahman Ku Ismail (PN–Kubang Pasu), who had asked on Thursday (Aug 14) about the financial implications of the joint declaration on PETRONAS.
“The impact on PETRONAS’ financial performance cannot be determined at this stage, as the terms and implementation mechanisms are still under negotiation and have not been finalised,” she was quoted as saying in a written parliamentary reply.
On May 21, both governments signed the declaration, which agreed for PETROS to be the sole aggregator in the State.
The declaration affirmed that all relevant federal and Sarawak laws relating to gas distribution in Sarawak shall coexist and be respected by all industry players, and that PETRONAS will continue its role under the Petroleum Development Act 1974.
Meanwhile, Azalina, in a written reply to Datuk Seri Madius Tangau (PH–Tuaran), said PETRONAS had only halted operations on parts of the Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP) through Lawas, Limbang, Miri, and Bintulu in Sarawak, while sections in Sabah and elsewhere remain operational.
The partial shutdown, she said, will not affect PETRONAS’ commitments to customers, stakeholders, or its agreed energy supply obligations.
She said this came after an assessment revealed that recurring ground movement and other factors had undermined the structural integrity of the affected segments, raising safety concerns.
Earlier in January, PETRONAS announced it would decommission the SSGP as part of its decommissioning plans from 2025 to 2027.
“For the next three years, decommissioning plans include the plugging and abandonment of approximately 153 wells and the abandonment of about 37 offshore facilities and one onshore facility, the SSGP,” it said in its Activity Outlook report.
The 500km natural gas pipeline connecting the Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal in Kimanis, Sabah, to PETRONAS’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex in Bintulu was built between 2011 and 2014 at a cost of over RM4 billion. — DayakDaily
