By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 21: Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg has clarified that Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) and Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) are in the process of arranging a technical arrangement for gas distribution in Sarawak, which is expected to be concluded soon; not an agreement.
He said this in response to a query about potential disagreements between the Federal and Sarawak governments over resource control following Petros positioning itself to become the sole gas aggregator in Sarawak in accordance with the Distribution of Gas Ordinance, 2016 and the Distribution of Gas (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023.
“This function (gas aggregator) is taken over from PETRONAS. Thus, at the moment, there is an arrangement between PETRONAS and Petros to find a formula for the two, and they collagether to manage gas.
“Actually, there is no agreement. It is just a matter of technical arrangement between Petros and PETRONAS, which will be concluded soon,” he said in a video interview uploaded by CNBC, an American business news channel, today.
In the interview, Abang Johari reaffirmed Sarawak’s control over its oil and gas resources under the Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO) 1958, a law that predates the formation of Malaysia.
The ordinance stipulates that oil and gas found within 200 nautical miles off Sarawak’s waters belong exclusively to the State, a point Abang Johari declared as “non-negotiable.”
Despite the fact that the OMO 1958 coexists with the Federal Petroleum Development Act (PDA) 1974, he said the former law is still valid.
“We haven’t repealed that law, meaning it has to coexist with PDA, and we are to be given the exemption in terms of distribution of gas domestically,” he added. — DayakDaily
