KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will be offering 13 offshore exploration blocks in Malaysia at the upcoming Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2021 launch next Friday (Feb 26).

The national oil company said in a statement today that included are six discovered fields to incentivise investors to undertake more extensive exploration activities within those blocks. 

This year’s MBR also offers four deepwater blocks adjacent to the coast of Sarawak and Sabah which saw prominent exploration discoveries in recent years.

Petronas said the MBR 2021 launch will be held virtually in Kuala Lumpur and live-streamed to three different markets namely North America, United Kingdom and Europe, as well as Asia Pacific.

Themed ’Grow your Energy Portfolio with Us’, MBR 2021 aims to attract investors with unique capabilities to unlock the full potential of the hydrocarbon resources in Malaysia.

Its senior vice-president of Malaysia Petroleum Management, Mohamed Firouz Asnan said MBR 2021 will feature significant enhancements which include larger block areas coupled with flexible bidding options and low entry costs.

"We will also be offering relatively new fiscal terms to be applied in the production sharing contracts such as Enhanced Profitability for the shallow water blocks, the Late Life Assets and Small Field Assets which are designed to match the risk and rewards of the investments with the type of assets available.

"These terms have been formulated based on the feedback from industry players, taking into account market conditions, further strengthening Malaysia’s position as the oil and gas hub in a growing and thriving South-east Asian market,” he said.

Besides improved fiscal terms, Malaysia also offers good network connectivity by way of established world-class infrastructure which enables ease of monetisation, Mohamed Firouz added.

MBR is an annual bid exercise organised by Petronas, offering potential investors with different opportunities ranging from exploration blocks, discovered resources to late life assets as well as study opportunities to grow their energy portfolio and create value.

It said that while MBR this year focuses on exploration blocks, the opportunities around late life assets and small fields are made available progressively throughout the year.

Petronas said that apart from issuing and managing petroleum arrangements in Malaysia, it also plays its role as the country’s oil and gas industry shaper and investment enabler by providing stewardship on upstream petroleum activities in Malaysia.

It is the single contact point for investors, which is a unique feature differentiating Petronas against its peers globally.

More details available at www.petronas.com/mpm/. — Bernama