DECEMBER 3 — According to Alex Procyk, Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal, Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd and its petroleum arrangement contractors recorded 19 exploration discoveries and two exploration-appraisal successes in Sarawak basin, North-west Sabah basin, and Malay Basin in Malaysia over the course of 2023. The discoveries, made from drilling 25 wells, contributed more than 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) of new resources.

BOE is used to summarise the amount of energy that is equivalent to the amount of energy found in a barrel of crude oil.

More than half of the discoveries alone were made in the Sarawak basin. Three discoveries were made in the North-west Sabah basin. Two other discoveries were made within the Malay basin.

Petronas has also achieved outstanding successes in its exploration and appraisal activities internationally. During the first half of 2024, the national oil company has already reported success in Suriname with the Sloanea-2 appraisal well in Block 52 which was drilled in June.

According to an August 8 media release, the above accomplishment has bolstered Petronas’ prospects in the basin and opens the possibility of developing a standalone Floating Liquified Natural Gas (FLNG) project at the field in the future.

Petronas was "born” fifty years ago in 1974, under the authority of the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA) which came into force on October 1 of that year.

The preamble of the PDA states as follows:

"An Act to provide for exploration and exploitation of petroleum whether onshore or offshore by a Corporation in which will be vested the entire ownership in and the exclusive rights, powers, liberties and privileges in respect of the said petroleum, and to control the carrying on of downstream activities and development relating to petroleum and its products; to provide for the establishment of a Corporation under the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125] or under the law relating to the incorporation of companies and for the powers of that Corporation; and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”

The Corporation is Petroleum Nasional Berhad or Petronas.

In introducing the Petroleum Development Bill, for the second reading in Parliament, the opening remarks of the Minister of Primary Industries were as follows:

"The purpose of this Bill is to provide a legislative framework for the exploration and exploitation of petroleum by a Corporation — in which will be vested the entire ownership in petroleum whether lying onshore or offshore of Malaysia.”

The Minister described the Bill as "a historic piece of legislation ever to come before this House.” In discussing the policy aspects, he said:

"The strategy is to increase the value of our Oil industry, and our effort would be based on an integrated approach so that all aspects of the Oil industry would be developed complementarity with each other.”

The Minister disclosed to Parliament that the Federal Government had "a very long consultation with the State Governments such as Sarawak and Sabah” and said as follows:

"On behalf of the Federal Government, I would like to express my gratitude to the Sarawak State Governments and Sabah for their willingness, for the sake of national interest, to cooperate with the Federal Government ... to table this Bill. I reckon that Honourable members will agree that the success of this Bill demonstrates the ability and competence of the leaders of the two states.”

Guess who the Minister was.

It was Haji Abdul Taib bin Mahmud who went on to become the fourth Chief Minister of Sarawak from 1981 to 2014 and affectionately referred to as the Father of Modern Sarawak. (Read about the late Abdul Taib Mahmud here)

Abdul Taib’s predecessor as Chief Minister, Haji Abdul Rahman bin Ya’kub (1970-1981), who was then also MP for Payang, was the first to rise in the ensuing debate of the Bill. Abdul Rahman said:

"There is no doubt that the time has come for our country Malaysia to take one very important step that can guarantee that the exploration and exploitation of petroleum will not be dominated and controlled, but also given the highest attention by the Government.

"Petroleum, which is so important to the country, should not be a matter of contention between the states in the federation, it must be considered of national interest. It is for this reason that the State Government of Sarawak and the Government of Sabah have agreed with the Federal Government that this Bill be tabled in this House.”

The Bill was duly passed by Parliament. The PDA gave birth to Petronas, whose midwife was effectively the States in Malaysia.

In other words, Petronas is truly Malaysian – created by Malaysians, by Malaysians, for Malaysians.

Selamat Ulang Tahun ke-50, Petronas!

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.