Petros to start prospecting activities in Miri this year – Abg Johari

MIRI: Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) will kick off exploration activities in Miri this year as the state will assume full regulatory authority over its oil and gas resources by July.

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said this at the business luncheon dialogue organised by Sarawak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Miri Region at Eastwood Golf and Country Club here yesterday.

He said the state will be able to exploit its oil and gas resources under the State List as per the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution, challenging those who dismiss his assertion of the state’s rights as blowing ‘hot air and talking nonsense’.

“This augurs well for the business community when the activities start,” he said.

The chief minister, however, did not say when exactly such prospecting operations would kick off.

All persons and companies involved in the oil and gas industry must have the necessary licences, permits, leases and approvals required under either the state’s Oil Mining Ordinance or the Gas Distribution Ordinance.

Petros will spearhead the state’s participation in the oil and gas sector which is strategically important to the overall socioeconomic development objectives of Sarawak, and it has been granted rights to mine oil and natural gas in the state and be an important player in the upstream oil and gas industry.

Abang Johari said the state has been fighting for oil and gas royalty to be raised to 20 per cent as spearheaded by his predecessor, the late Pehin Sri Adenan Satem, but added it is not easy unless there is consent from the federal government as the Federal Constitution has put a cap of 10 per cent.

He was fielding questions from the floor on what the future holds for Miri, with Petros coming into the picture which was formerly dominated by Shell and Petronas.

Earlier on in his address, he advised the community to be open to the bigger picture and look beyond the oil and gas industry as the engine of growth and business in this city.

The community, according to organising chairman Andy Chia, who is a former Pujut state assemblyman and SCCI Miri Region committee chairman, looks forward to Petros setting up base in Miri which is home to the oil and gas industry for over a century.