KUCHING: Sarawak has managed to increase local participation in the oil and gas activities, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
He said as at 2022, Sarawak has more than 600 licensed and registered companies and about RM2.9 billion in contracts have been awarded to Sarawakian companies for jobs in the oil and gas industry.
“There are also various programmes made available to harness the full potential of oil and gas industry players such as Vendor Financing Programme, where about RM325.8 million has been approved to 38 Sarawakian companies as of 2022.
“Meanwhile, in terms of engagement, about 300 companies benefited from eight engagement sessions in 2022.
“We hope that PETRONAS and other established oil and gas players can include many more Sarawakian companies in their programmes,” he said at the Sarawakian Bumiputera Oil and Gas Contractors Transformation Programme inauguration ceremony held at Grand Continental Hotel here on yesterday (Mar 21).
His text-of-speech was read by Deputy Minister of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Dr Ripin Lamat.
Awang Tengah said Sarawak has the potential to be a global hub for the oil and gas industry by establishing a robust downstream petrochemical sector to increase participation in the higher value chain.
“Sarawak can take advantage of the availability of our natural gas resource as feedstock and the existing infrastructure in Bintulu to be a thriving and vibrant oil and gas hub in the region.”
He said the amendment to the Oil Mining Ordinance 1958 and the signing of Commercial Settlement Agreement in Dec 7, 2020 had an important contribution to make in enabling Sarawak to exercise regulatory control over exploration and mining of oil and gas within the state’s territorial boundaries.
“Herein lies the importance of meeting the aspirations of Sarawak for more active participation by Sarawakian and Sarawak companies in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.
“However, this cannot be done alone. It requires a collective effort from all of us; the government, private sector and local communities,” said Awang Tengah.
