kUCHING, Aug 19 — Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg said today that any extraction from oil and gas fields found within Sarawak’s territorial waters must be split equally between state-owned Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB).

He said this is in accordance with the provisions of the state Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 (OMO 1958) and Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA 1974)

"Our argument is that PDA 1974 cannot be applied alone and it must work together with our OMO 1958.

"They must co-exist and if this happens, our state revenue will increase,” he said when declaring open Dayak Cultural Foundation (DCF) and Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) twin towers here.

He said Petronas’ oil exploration has discovered six new oil fields, off Balingian’s coast within Sarawak’s territorial waters, so far this year.

"This means that there is a chance that we will increase our oil revenue,” he said.

He said since becoming the chief minister in 2017 and now the premier, he had tried to look for more money for Sarawak.

He added that he decided to look at the State Constitution and found out that Sarawak has the right to impose sales and tax on any product, such as petroleum, by 5 per cent.

The 5 per cent sales tax imposed on petroleum products gives more revenue for Sarawak than the 20 per cent on oil royalty that was demanded by politicians then.

The premier said oil and gas will not be the only ones to be imposed with the 5 per cent sales tax, adding the state government is in the process of identifying other areas where it can increase the revenue.