This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 15, 2021 - March 21, 2021

JUDGING by recent events, national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) appears to be prioritising the domestic oil and gas (O&G) sector.

Recently, after the launch of Malaysia Bid Round 2021 (MBR 2021), several local companies were invited to view Petronas’ data room, giving them access to the hydrocarbon assets within the purview of the state-controlled oil company. This points to the likelihood of greater participation from local companies at the bidding level for Petronas’ assets.

Petronas’ MBR is an annual affair that offers investors diverse opportunities in Malaysia ranging from exploration blocks and undeveloped, discovered resources to late-life assets as well as technical study opportunities for potential investors to grow their energy portfolio and create value. Oilfield development is usually undertaken through production sharing contracts (PSCs).

For MBR 2021, as many as 250 potential and existing investors exhibited interest in the 13 exploration blocks being offered.

“In the past, very few, if any, local companies were invited to view Petronas’ data room, to participate in the bidding. This time around, quite a few were invited,” a CEO of an O&G outfit says.

Another CEO of a publicly traded company says, “We were invited, so I’m sure many others were [too].”

Access to Petronas’ data room will be made available until Aug 6, 2021, after which potential investors, including invited local players, can make their bids.

The CEO of the O&G outfit says several local O&G players may form alliances or consortiums and get involved in the 13 exploration blocks on offer.

Petronas’ move to prioritise local companies comes on the back of strengthening oil prices. Last Thursday, Brent Crude was trading just below US$69 per barrel, having gained 75% over the past six months.

While there are questions about the sustainability of the gains, Goldman Sachs sees Brent Crude trading at US$75 by the third quarter of the year.

Against this backdrop, Petronas’ MBR 2021 could be good for local players.

The local outfits that may be interested to bid for the 13 blocks — albeit with partners — include Dialog Group Bhd, Petra Energy Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Uzma Bhd, Velesto Energy Bhd and Sapura Energy Bhd. To mitigate their risks, the companies are likely to form a consortium with foreign companies with the requisite expertise.

The 13 Petronas blocks on offer are PM340, PM327 and PM342 in the Malay basin off the coast of Peninsular Malaysia, SB409, SB412, 2W and X off the coast of Sabah and ND3A, 4E, SK328, SK427, SK439 and SK440 off the coast of Sarawak.

PM342, 4E, SK328 and SB409 have six fields where oil has already been discovered. Meanwhile, deepwater blocks ND3A, 2W and X off the coast of Sarawak and Sabah have also had prominent exploration discoveries in recent years.

Dialog, Uzma, Sapura Energy and the ailing Scomi Group Bhd had been involved in Petronas’ development of marginal fields via risk service contracts, but Petronas — via its own unit, Vestigo Petroleum Sdn Bhd — has taken over most of the operations. The only remaining marginal field and risk service contract is one by Petra Energy, which is undertaking oil production at the Banang oilfield off the coast of Terengganu.

With a market capitalisation of close to RM19 billion, Dialog is one of the few companies with the requisite size to undertake such a large-scale development.

Hibiscus, meanwhile, has a 50% stake in the St Joseph’s, South Furious, Barton and SF 30 fields, which are all producing assets and part of the North Sabah enhanced oil recovery PSCs.

Other than the North Sabah PSCs, Hibiscus has a 19.3% stake in the Cook field and wholly owns the Teal, Teal South, Guillemot and Anasuria FPSO, which are part of the Anasuria Cluster, 175km east of Aberdeen in the North Sea.

Hibiscus is also the concession operator of the West Seahorse Field (in which it has 100% equity interest) and VIC/P57 (78.3%), off the coast of Australia.

It is worth noting that several foreign O&G companies have exited or are looking to exit Malaysia, and are selling off their assets. In June 2019, Murphy Oil Corp sold its Malaysian assets for US$2.13 billion to Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production PCL. Last year, US oil major Exxon Mobil Corp had put up its Malaysian assets for sale, with sources pegging the price tag at US$2 billion to US$3 billion. Recently, The Edge reported that Spain’s Repsol was looking to exit Malaysia.

Last month, The Edge reported that Petronas was putting out a tender for 16 offshore support vessels as part of a plan to build 100 vessels over the next four years. Among the requirements for bidders was to utilise local shipyards and funding from local banks or foreign banks operating in Malaysia.

Analysts have pegged the price tag for the 16 vessels at between US$180 million and US$220 million, or RM740 million to RM900 million.

Thus far, The Edge understands that 10 shipyards have been identified to undertake the building of these vessels, including Labuan Shipyard & Engineering, which is 50% controlled by Sapura Energy; Muhibbah Marine Engineering Sdn Bhd, wholly owned by Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd; Sealink Shipyard Sdn Bhd, wholly owned by Sealink International Bhd; Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd, 20.77% held by Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd and 82% by Boustead Holdings Bhd; Nam Cheong Dockyard Sdn Bhd, which is part of Singapore-listed Nam Cheong Ltd; Shin Yang Shipyard Sdn Bhd, wholly owned by Shin Yang Corp Bhd; and Johor Shipyard and Engineering Sdn Bhd, wholly owned by EA Technique Sdn Bhd.

Two other companies identified are privately held Sarawak Slipways Sdn Bhd and Berjaya Dockyard Sdn Bhd.

Although oil prices and the economic outlook are improving, funding could still prove to be a drag as banks remain jittery. Having previously provided hefty loans to the industry, banks were ravaged when the share prices of O&G counters dissipated after crude oil prices tanked not too long ago.

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