KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) appears to have snubbed the Sarawak government’s move to exercise its full authority over the oil and gas industry beginning last Sunday.
All petroleum industry players in the state are now required to be licenced by the state government but a brief statement issued by Petronas today suggests that the national oil company might not comply.
“Petronas maintains that it has exclusive ownership of the petroleum resources in Malaysia and is the sole regulator of the upstream sector in the country.
“Moving forward, Petronas will closely monitor the situation, including seeking views and guidance from the government of Malaysia, being the sole shareholder of Petronas, in carrying out its duties,” Petronas said.
Petronas had on June 22 lost a suit against the Sarawak government in the Federal Court that would nullify the state government’s move to exert its authority.
It had sought a declaration on the Petroleum Development Act 1974 as the law applicable for the industry and as such it is the exclusive owner of petroleum resources as well as regulator for the upstream industry throughout the country.
Petronas, however, could file a fresh challenge as Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop had ruled that the matter should have been brought before the High Court.
Yesterday, the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Office said oil and gas industry players are required to comply with the Gas Distribution Ordinance 2016, Oil Mining Ordinance (OMO) 1958 and Sarawak Land Code (SLC) 1958 covering all related activities.
However, the state government said it accepted that the process would take time and has therefore, permitted the industry players to conduct their business as usual until the end of 2019 while at the same time take steps to ensure compliance with state laws.
