Petronas: No deal with joint venture

Kuala Lumpur: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), the national oil company, has disputed claims by a Malaysian-Iranian-Chinese (MIC) joint venture that they are poised to be awarded a contract to develop a marginal oil field.


Earlier this week, it was reported that China's largest petroleum refiner Sinopec Petroleum Services Corp (Sinopec) was poised to take a major stake in a planned RM2.06 billion venture to help develop a Petronas marginal oil field located off the coast of Terengganu.

At a press conference held on Monday, it was disclosed that under the deal, Sinopec will hold 40 per cent stake in the consortium, while Sabio Oil & Gas Sdn Bhd (SOG), a unit of Sabio Technology Bhd (STB), and Iranian group International Oil and Design and Construction Sdn Bhd (IODC) will have 30 per cent stake, respec-tively.

"This is our maiden foray in the oil and gas industry. We have set up SOG solely for this project and we are optimistic to be given a chance by Petronas to develop this project," STB executive chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Sukimi Ibrahim was reported to have said.

"The Sinopec-Sabio-IODC consortium has not taken part in any of our prior processes," Petronas said in a late statement yesterday.

"We had already completed a data review process with parties interested in the fields identified for the first phase of the development and has so far awarded a Risk Service Contract (RSC) for the Berantai field to the Petrofac-Kencana-Sapura partnership," Petronas added.

Petronas also added that as part of its selection criteria, any local company to be selected by foreign partners to participate in the RSC petroleum arrangement is required to have a proven track record as an established oil and gas service provider, apart from being a listed entity.

None of the local companies in the MIC joint venture are listed, but it was also reported that STB, incorporated just last November, had obtained approval to list on Bursa Malaysia and soon will be issuing its public prospectus.

However, a quick check on Bursa Malaysia and the Securities Commission's website did not reveal any details concerning a draft prospectus by STB.

Analysts, meanwhile, were puzzled on why Petronas took more than a day before issuing a statement, but pointed out that Malaysia has been prone to mega oil deal announcements.

In 2007, Trans-Peninsula Petroleum outlined plans for a US$7 billion pipeline, to be laid across northern Malaysia, which will divert up to a third of oil now being carried through the Straits of Malacca.

Trans-Peninsula linked up with a Saudi firm, Al-Banader International Group, for oil supplies while a unit of Ranhill Bhd was slated to help in the design and construction of the pipeline.

While today in the city, a US$100 billion (RM294 billion) Trans-Asian Oil and Gas Pipeline memorandum of understanding signing ceremony is slated to take place.