KUCHING: The negotiations and talks on the implementation of the commercial settlement agreement between the Sarawak government and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) are still ongoing with some delays due to the movement control order (MCO).
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring) Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali said while the agreement has been agreed upon by both parties, the aspect of its implementation was a different ball game.
“We are now in the process of implementation on what was agreed upon. I think it is the most challenging part as there are still many little things that need to be ironed out which requires talks and negotiations,” she said when met by reporters after officiating at the Sarawak Housing Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda) Kuching branch ‘Sharing is Caring’ free packed lunch programme at Mom’s Laksa, Jalan Astana branch here on Sunday (June 27).
Sharifah Hasidah said that the meetings and talks were currently being held virtually via Zoom as well as other online platforms.
“Everything is a bit delayed and stalled because of the MCO, but this does not mean that we have stopped. It is just that we cannot really talk and do things as fast as we would like to for the time being.
“Rest assured that things are progressing well and we are having a lot of meetings as well as talks virtually,” she added.
The Sarawak government and Petronas signed the commercial settlement agreement after resolving their differences on the imposition of State Sales Tax (SST) for petroleum products as well as oil and gas matters in Dec 7 last year.
The agreement provides Sarawak with a greater share of revenues from oil and gas found and produced in the state, a more active involvement by the state in the oil and gas industry through the management of onshore oil and gas resources by Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) and investment by Petros in the upstream ventures in offshore areas, among others.
