KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 6): Dialog Group Bhd (KL:DIALOG) said its 50.01%-owned joint venture company has been awarded concession rights and operatorship for the L8/66 exploration block onshore Thailand.
The joint venture company, Pan Orient Energy (Siam) Ltd (POES), was notified by the Thai government on Monday (Oct 5) that it had been awarded the concession following a joint bid with CanAsia Energy Corp in Thailand’s 25th Onshore Bid Round, according to Dialog's Bursa Malaysia filing on Tuesday.
POES will operate the concession with a 70% participating interest, while Canada-listed CanAsia will hold the remaining 30% non-operating interest.
The development of L8/66 carries a minimum work commitment of US$14.3 million (RM58.4 million).
The award remains subject to the finalisation and execution of the concession agreement and the fulfilment of its conditions precedent, with physical work expected to begin immediately after the agreement is signed.
POES is a joint venture between Dialog’s wholly-owned Pan Orient Petroleum Pte Ltd and Thailand-based Sea Oil Energy Ltd, which holds the remaining 49.99%.
Dialog, through POES, already operates the producing L53/48 onshore concession in Thailand, which is adjacent to the L8/66 block.
L8/66 was previously part of the L53/48 concession before being relinquished to the Thai government under concession terms requiring portions of undeveloped acreage to be surrendered over time.
Dialog said the new block has similar geological characteristics to L53/48 and gives POES access to additional acreage surrounding its existing producing fields.
“The award of Concession L8/66 to POES further strengthens Dialog’s upstream portfolio and creates operational synergies by leveraging on the group’s integrated technical services across its diversified business model,” the company said.
"Dialog will remain focused and steadfast in the pursuit of diversification across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy sector as well as the sustainable and renewable sector, to strategically position the group to weather different economic and oil price cycles, which is in line with the group's strategy of generating long term recurring income," it added.
For the financial year ended June 30, 2026 (FY2026), Dialog’s net profit surged 95.4% to RM593.55 million from RM303.83 million a year earlier, as revenue grew 15.3% to RM2.88 billion from RM2.5 billion.
The stronger FY2026 performance was driven by positive contributions across the group’s businesses, particularly its Malaysian operations, while its international businesses also recorded higher profit contributions on increased sales of specialist products and services.
Dialog proposed a final dividend of three sen per share, bringing its total dividend for FY2026 to 4.7 sen per share or about RM265.93 million.
Dialog shares closed two sen or 1.08% higher at RM1.87 on Tuesday, valuing the group at RM10.56 billion. Year to date, the counter has gained over 6%.