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Petronas grants Sarawak higher oil, gas revenue share

  • : Crude oil, Natural gas
  • 20/12/07

Malaysia's state-owned Petronas has agreed to grant Sarawak a larger share of revenues from oil and gas produced in the state, just weeks after posting a 3.38bn ringgit loss ($830mn) for July-September.

Petronas and Sarawak have agreed to a commercial settlement "after having resolved their differences over the imposition of state sales tax on petroleum products as well as oil and gas matters".

The agreement also gives Sarawak more involvement in its oil and gas industry through management of onshore oil and gas resources via its state-owned energy firm Petros, as well upstream investments by Petros in offshore areas.

Other details of the higher revenue share deal were undisclosed. But Petronas and the state government "remain committed to working together to create and maintain a stable, conducive business and investment environment for the sustainable growth of the oil and gas industry" in Sarawak, Malaysia's biggest oil-producing state.

Petronas in September paid Sarawak more than 2bn ringgit in sales taxes on oil products for 2019, following a lengthy dispute that led to the firm's former chief executive Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin stepping down.


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24/11/28

Japan’s Saibu Gas to launch terminal expansion in 2029

Japan’s Saibu Gas to launch terminal expansion in 2029

Singapore, 28 November (Argus) — Japanese gas retailer Saibu Gas expects to start commercial operations at its Hibiki terminal expansion between the second and third quarter of 2029. The firm has reached a final investment decision (FID) for the Hibiki terminal expansion, the firm said on 28 November. Saibu's expansion plan includes building a third LNG storage tank with a capacity of 230,000m³, as well as gas production and LNG tank truck-loading facilities. The total project cost is estimated to be around ¥50bn ($330m), and construction will start around summer 2025. The firm issued the tender for expansion in March. This is part of the firm's efforts to meet domestic gas demand "for carbon neutrality", Saibu said. It is also considering introducing e-methane in the future to further enhance its decarbonisation efforts. Saibu Gas plans to expand its global business by utilising the Hibiki terminal to reload cargoes to sell to overseas customers using isotank containers . The terminal has two existing 180,000m³ tanks and sits at Kita-Kyushu in west Japan's Fukuoka prefecture. It is jointly operated by Kyushu Electric and Saibu Gas. The terminal will supply regasified LNG through pipelines to the new 620MW Hibiki LNG-fired power plant at Hibikinada, in the southern Fukuoka prefecture. The facility is expected to start commercial operations in 2026 and it is operated by Hibiki Power, a joint venture between Kyushu (80pc) and Sabu (20pc). By Naomi Ong Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Japan’s Kline receives new LNG-fuelled car carrier


24/11/28
24/11/28

Japan’s Kline receives new LNG-fuelled car carrier

Tokyo, 28 November (Argus) — Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (Kline) received an LNG-fuelled car carrier on 28 November, as it looks to use more lower-carbon marine fuels as part of its decarbonisation efforts. Kline received the car carrier Pontus Highway with a capacity of 7,000 vehicles from Chinese shipbuilder China Merchants Jinling Shipyard. The vessel is equipped with a dual fuel engine and is designed to curb emissions of CO2 by 25-30pc, sulphide oxide by almost 100pc and nitrogen oxide by around 75pc, compared to conventional fuel oil. Kline previously commissioned the LNG-fuelled car carrier Nereus Highway , also built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard, in the first half of August . It received LNG-fuelled car carrier Poseidon Highway , built by domestic shipbuilder Imabari Shipbuilding, on 1 October . Kline said LNG-fuelled ships have an advantage in securing fuel as supply facilities for these vessels are well-established at ports, especially compared to methanol- and ammonia-fuelled vessels. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Opec+ meeting delayed to 5 December


24/11/28
24/11/28

Opec+ meeting delayed to 5 December

Dubai, 28 November (Argus) — A meeting of Opec+ ministers scheduled for 1 December has been postponed to 5 December. Opec said the delay is because of a conflicting travel schedule for energy ministers of Mideast Gulf countries, as the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) leaders summit in Kuwait overlaps with the Opec+ meeting. The Opec+ meeting, which was to be held online, will coincide with a decision to be taken by eight member countries on whether to press ahead with a plan to begin the phased return of 2.2mn b/d of "voluntary" production cuts to the market from January. This was to begin in October, but concerns about the strength of oil demand and price weakness prompted the group to postpone to December and then to January. The UAE will start increasing its output from January regardless, as a 300,000 b/d increase to its official production quota kicks in over the course of 2025. Any increase to Opec+ supply would be tempered by additional cuts that some of the eight will be making in the coming months to compensate for past overproduction. Iraq, Kazakhstan and Russia are the group's leading overproducers. Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on 27 November talked with Kazakhstan's energy minister Almasadam Satkaliyev and Russia's deputy prime minister Alexander Novak, Moscow's point man on Opec+ matters. A day earlier, Prince Abdulaziz met in Baghdad with Iraq's prime minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Novak. The statements from both meetings emphasised "full adherence to the [current policy] agreement, including the voluntary production cuts agreed upon by the eight participating countries, as well as compensating for any excess production." The 5 December meeting will be a third consecutive Opec+ ordinary ministerial meeting to be held virtually rather than in Vienna. The last time Opec+ held its ministerial meeting in-person was in June 2023. By Bachar Halabi and Nader Itayim Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Australia’s Santos wins costs in gas pipeline case


24/11/28
24/11/28

Australia’s Santos wins costs in gas pipeline case

Townsville, 28 November (Argus) — Australian independent Santos will receive millions of dollars in legal costs, months after the Federal Court ruled in the firm's favour regarding a lawsuit intended to derail its $4.6bn Barossa gas field in the Timor Sea. Environmental law group the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) must pay Santos' legal bills of slightly more than A$9mn ($5.8mn), 100pc of the company's costs incurred defending a 2023 court case. The EDO's lawyers claimed Barossa's gas export pipeline required a new environmental plan because of cultural heritage matters, but the court found the action brought on behalf of three Tiwi islander Aboriginal people failed to establish any new facts following a cultural survey along the route of the 262km pipeline. Justice Natalie Charlesworth dismissed the independence and credibility of an EDO-commissioned underwater map showing cultural sites, with court papers released showing an expert offered to move the location of one such site so it would conflict with the pipeline. The decision may have a chilling effect on further legal challenges to oil, gas and coal projects in Australia. Court action planned against Australian independent Woodside's $12.5bn Scarborough project offshore Western Australia was called off in August , with the applicant labelling the case as "expensive and risky". Australia's conservative Coalition alliance has promised to end taxpayer funding for the EDO if it wins control of federal parliament in 2025. The October 2022 budget pledged A$9.8mn over four years and A$2.6mn/yr in ongoing funding to the EDO and fellow national legal organisation Environmental Justice Australia. Santos plans to bring its $4.6bn, 84pc complete Barossa field in the Timor Sea on line in July-September 2025, a slight delay from the previously guided first half of 2025. The field will provide feedstock for the 3.7mn t/yr Darwin LNG terminal, which exported its final cargo from the Bayu-Undan field in 2023. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

LNG use poses risk to Cambodia's energy security: IEEFA


24/11/28
24/11/28

LNG use poses risk to Cambodia's energy security: IEEFA

Singapore, 28 November (Argus) — Cambodia's increasing reliance on LNG for power generation could be detrimental to its energy security because of instability in LNG markets, according to Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). Rapid economic growth and electrification have led to Cambodia's electricity demand growing by 16pc/yr since 2009, according to IEEFA's report released on 26 November. Its power generation is mostly from hydropower and coal, but the country aims to boost its gas-fired power generation to meet its decarbonisation targets. Cambodia has a net zero by 2050 goal, and aims to reach 70pc renewable energy generation by 2030. The share of coal in Cambodia's power mix was 45pc in 2023, with hydropower representing 44pc, solar 5pc and imports from neighbouring countries making up the remaining 6pc. The country in 2021 declared that it would not build new coal plants beyond those already approved. Natural gas had not played a role in the country's power mix until recently, but "optimism has grown in recent years regarding the ability of new LNG-to-power projects to help the country meet rising electricity demand," stated the report. Gas operator Cambodian Natural Gas imported the country's first LNG shipment in 2020 from China's state-owned firm CNOOC, according to IEEFA. The firm also planned to complete a 1,200MW LNG-fired power plant and a 3mn t/yr import terminal by 2023, although there has been no progress as of June this year. Cambodian officials in November 2023 announced the cancellation of a 700MW coal project, which will be replaced with a 800MW gas-fired power plant instead. Cambodia is seeking to build these large LNG-fired power plants because of concerns over the intermittency of renewables such as wind and power, and LNG is viewed as a suitable transition fuel for grid reliability. The government expects LNG-fired capacity to reach 900MW by 2040, which would require roughly 840,000 t/yr of imports. When considering long-term wholesale prices of $8-16/mn Btu, Cambodia's LNG import bill could range between $361mn-722mn/yr, according to IEEFA. Some forecasts estimate that Cambodia's LNG-fired capacity could rise to as much as 2,700MW by 2040 and 8,700MW by 2050, stated the report. This would entail import requirements of 2.53mn t/yr in 2040 and 8.14mn t/yr in 2050. The fuel import costs for 2,700MW of LNG-fired capacity could amount to $1.08bn-2.17bn. LNG volatility LNG markets have been volatile over the past two years, because of factors such as geopolitical tensions and outages at supply facilities. Other emerging Asian economies such as Pakistan and Bangladesh faced fuel and power shortages because they have been unable to secure affordable LNG supplies, and this "demonstrates the evident risks of LNG importation for developing countries," states the report. Cambodia already has one of the highest electricity tariffs in Asia at $0.16/kWh, so higher LNG prices could require higher tariffs. LNG prices in Asia have been roughly $14/mn Btu and would have to fall below $5mn/mn Btu to compete with other electricity sources, according to IEEFA, but these low price levels are rare. The ANEA price, the Argus assessment for spot LNG deliveries to northeast Asia for the front-half month, stood at $15.08/mn Btu on 27 November. Cambodia's LNG demand and LNG-fired power plant expansions remain uncertain, so long-term offtake commitments will be challenging and the country will likely have to initially source cargoes from the sport market, according to the report. But the spot market poses risks in terms of supply security and price stability. Establishing an LNG supply chain also entails rigid long-term contracts that lock in fossil fuel infrastructure for decades. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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