KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): Perdana Petroleum Bhd (KL:PERDANA) said it has secured a work order from Sarawak Shell Bhd for the charter of two accommodation work barges for an undisclosed sum.

The barges are chartered by Perdana’s wholly owned unit Perdana Nautika Sdn Bhd (PNSB) for three years beginning March 15 and April 7 respectively, with option to extend for one year, Perdana said in its filing.

Each vessel can accommodate 300 people, the company said.

“PNSB shall provide the accommodation work barges with crews and equipment to perform 24-hour services for assisting and/or servicing drilling rigs, offshore installation, derrick barges, towing and anchor jobs as per the scope of works agreed on to Sarawak Shell’s project activities, it said.

This is the first charter win announced by Perdana this year. In 2024, it announced to Bursa Malaysia eight work orders and four extension of contracts for its vessels used to support the offshore oil and gas industry.

Perdana last month posted its biggest annual profit in 18 years in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024, on improved vessel utilisation and charter rates. The group is seriously considering fleet renewal, as it sees charter rates sustaining in the long term due to tight supply conditions.

In a recent interview with The Edge, Perdana’s managing director Jamalludin Obeng, in his capacity as president of Malaysia’s Offshore Support Vessel Owners’ Association (Mosva) pointed to the industry requirement of 118 vessels a year in 2025-2027, which he said only supports current production operations. “That does not include drilling and maintenance,” he said.

Shares of Perdana Petroleum settled unchanged at 17.5 sen, valuing it at 2.67 times trailing price-to-earnings and giving it a market capitalisation of RM381.61 million. The counter is down 30% this year.