KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has fully taken over Malaysia LNG Dua Sdn Bhd (MLNG Dua) from Sarawak Shell Bhd (Shell), which had a 50% stake in the firm.

In a statement, Petronas said  the handover of Shell’s stake was officiated in a ceremony yesterday, and thus its unit Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) now owns a 90% stake in MLNG Dua, while the remaining 10% is held by PCSB’s subsidiary, E&P Malaysian Ventures Sdn Bhd (EPMV). Consequently, PCSB and EPMV are now the operators of MLNG Dua.

Previously, MLNG Dua was operated by Shell via a production sharing contract (PSC) signed with Petronas in 1993. The PSC expired yesterday.

“Petronas is committed to ensure that there will be no interruption to the supply and demand of gas and achieve stability in the operations of MLNG Dua,”  Petronas senior vice-president, upstream Malaysia, Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib said.

Petronas said it views the takeover as a positive addition to PCSB’s ongoing efforts to position the state of Sarawak as the gas hub in the region.

“Petronas will continue to support all long-term initiatives for the betterment of the state and its community,” Mohd Anuar said.

He added that Petronas intends to maintain the current staff and vendors as well as their original positions.

Petronas has offered employment opportunities to all 39 staff released by Shell, and 37 of them have accepted the offer, according to Mohd Anuar.

“The 39 employees released by the previous operator are the only staff that Petronas can legally approach for employment offer, and 37 have accepted. They will continue performing their jobs at MLNG Dua as usual,” he said, adding that the employees who did not accept the offer made their decision based on personal reasons.

Currently, Petronas’ gas operation in Sarawak ranges from well, platform and pipeline as well as terminal operations.  

This article first appeared in digitaledge Daily, on August 21, 2015.