KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 11): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (PETRONAS) has launched the Malaysia Bid Round 2026 (MBR 2026), offering nine exploration blocks and six discovered resource opportunities (DROs) as it seeks to strengthen Malaysia’s position as a leading upstream investment hub.
In a statement on Wednesday (Feb 11), PETRONAS said the portfolio includes a frontier block in the Sandakan Basin, high-potential blocks in the West Sarawak Basin and near-field opportunities in the mature Malay Basin. The six DROs provide ready-to-develop assets aimed at accelerating monetisation and near-term value creation.
Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM) senior vice-president Datuk Bacho Pilong said Malaysia requires RM50 billion to RM60 billion in upstream investment annually to meet rising energy demand driven by the country’s expanding digital economy and manufacturing sector.
PETRONAS signed several memoranda of understanding, including with Global FCNG Inc, ZDA Corporation Sdn Bhd and MTC Engineering Sdn Bhd, to strengthen partnerships and Malaysia’s tech-driven energy ecosystem. It is also expanding collaboration on energy transition and carbon capture through the borderless initiative with PETRONAS Carigali and Hibiscus Oil & Gas, coordinating offshore projects to optimise resource development and commercially viable CO₂ management.
PETRONAS, through MPM, awarded its last ready-to-develop block production-sharing contract for the Permata Cluster off Sabah to London-based Bridge Petroleum Ltd on Monday. This completes three DRO clusters and advances another exploration block under the Malaysia Bid Round 2025.