Petronas joins two PSCs offshore Indonesia, signs Malaysia fabrication MoUs
Petronas subsidiary PC North Madura II has secured interests in two offshore production sharing contracts (PSCs) under the second Indonesia Petroleum Bid Round 2024.
The company will operate the Serpang PSC offshore East Java in partnership with INPEX and SK earthon Co.
For the Binaiya offshore Maluku PSC, Pertamina Hulu Energi is the operator, with Petronas and SK earthon Co. as partners.
Initial three-year work commitments include three geological and geophysical studies as well as acquisition and processing of 400 sq km of 3D seismic data.
Development initiatives offshore Malaysia
In Kuala Lumpur, Petronas, via Malaysia Petroleum Management, has signed 11 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to support development of Malaysia’s oil and gas services and equipment sector.
As part of the Yard Transformation and Productivity Enhancement initiative, the company entered five MoUs with local fabrication yard contractors Brooke Holding, Ocean Might, Muhibbah Engineering, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering, and Sapura Fabrication Sdn Bhd.
The focus of the partnerships will be fostering adoption of innovative technologies, developing workforce capabilities and finding new market opportunities to boost productivity.
Petronas also signed six MoUs under its Skilled Trade Champion initiative with Pan-Malaysia Maintenance, Construction and Modification (MCM) contractors, Hook-up and Commissioning (HUC) contractors, and the Malaysia Offshore Support Vessel Owners’ Association (MOSVA).
In this case, the goals are to strengthen offshore skills (e.g., rigging, blasting and painting, scaffolding, welding, joint-making, and seafaring) and to upskill Malaysian seafarers to boost numbers of qualified officers in offshore marine operations.
In other news, Petronas and PetroVietnam extended their upstream arrangements earlier this month for the PM3 CAA concession overlapping waters offshore Malaysia and Vietnam by a further 20 years. The two parties signed a key principles agreement that covers the PSC and upstream gas sales agreement for the 2,000-sq-km PM3 Commercial Arrangement Area, which includes seven producing offshore fields.
Joint venture potential
In February of this year, Eni and Petronas entered an exclusive MoU to progress talks on forming a joint venture holding company. This would oversee some of their upstream assets in Indonesia and Malaysia. It would combine about 3 Bboe of reserves with exploration upside for a further 10 Bboe.
