MPRC continues to deliver on targets to improve Malaysia’s OGSE industry

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Petroleum Resources Corporation (MPRC) remains on track in its efforts to strengthen the oil & gas services and equipment (OGSE) industry in order to develop greater resilience and global competitiveness.

According to its Corporate Report 2016, the agency surpassed its target of RM650 million to bring in RM683.7 million worth of OGSE investments last year.

Additionally in 2016, MPRC facilitated the establishment of regional headquarters for three OGSE MNCs in Malaysia and assisted nine OGSE companies to bid for Oil & Gas (O&G) projects in six countries. The report, published on June 1, also highlighted efforts to spur innovation and technology development across Malaysia’s OGSE supply chain.

Leveraging on its industryacademia platform via the O&G Innovation and Technology Clusters, MPRC facilitated five technology development projects in subsurface technologies, marine systems and topside engineering in 2016.

“MPRC has been driving important initiatives to ensure we can achieve the vision of establishing Malaysia as the OGSE hub for Asia Pacific. During the year, MPRC was instrumental in facilitating nine OGSE companies’ ventures into new export markets whilst also strengthening international linkages that will benefit the industry at large,” MPRC chairman Datuk Sri Idris Jala said, adding that the agency helped drive collaboration between domestic OGSE companies and the academia in developing innovative solutions for the oil and gas value chain in Asia Pacific.

Beyond its achievements in 2016, there remains much work to be done in improving the industry, said MPRC’s President/CEO Datuk Shahrol Halmi.

“The current downturn could mean a period of extraordinary change and as such, boosting the competitiveness of our players in a constantly evolving landscape is crucial.

That is why this period is an opportune time to address systemic issues within the industry, push for collaboration among the OGSE players and support those that bring game-changing solutions or distinctive technologies.”

He added that MPRC will step up efforts to catalyse and spur the country’s OGSE development over the next two years.

These include attracting the top 50 OGSE MNCs to establish their regional headquarters in Malaysia, leveraging on key trade shows to elevate Malaysia’s appeal as the gateway to OGSE opportunities in Asia Pacific and spurring local technology development via industry-academia collaboration in subsurface technologies, marine systems and topside engineering.

“In order to drive further growth, MPRC will continue to work closely with PETRONAS on structural reforms to build a more competitive OGSE industry,” Datuk Shahrol Halmi added.

On this, PETRONAS’ senior vice president of corporate strategy Adif Zulkifli said, “We envision that this PETRONAS-MPRC partnership will further enhance the competitiveness of our nation’s OGSE sector in the years to come.”

MPRC’s Corporate Report 2016 further highlighted that the RM683.7 million worth of investments in 2016 covered both the upstream and downstream segments of OGSE industry.

The three MNCs that MPRC assisted in establishing their regional headquarters locally are McDermott International, Fulkrum Technical Resources and WEG Southeast Asia, who have joined a growing number of OGSE MNCs relocating here as they increasingly see the value of Malaysia as the preferred OGSE centre for Asia Pacific.

As of end-2016, a total of 18 MNCs have move to Malaysia to better serve OGSE requirements in this region.

MPRC and MATRADE also facilitated nine OGSE companies to bid for oil and gas projects in Timor Leste, Vietnam, US, Thailand, Kazakhstan and Bahrain in 2016.

A new outsourcing and contract manufacturing initiative that was implemented during the year saw MPRC facilitating OGSE companies to participate in two Malaysia-based MNCs’ manufacturing operations including subsea manifolds fabrication, material testing and equipment calibration.

Moving forward, MPRC remains committed to promoting, catalysing and globalising the country’s OGSE capabilities in the upstream, midstream and downstream segments amidst global rationalisation of the oil and gas industry to survive in the current challenging environment. — Bernama