See wants Sarawak to take 49 per cent stake in gas block
KUCHING: Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg and his state administration are urged to seriously consider taking up the 49 per cent stake in the SK316 offshore gas block which Petronas is planning to sell.
According to Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How, it was recently reported that Petronas wanted to sell a large stake in this prized upstream gas project to raise cash and cut development costs.
As reported in a national daily, the stake may include a combination of the producing NC3 gas field in SK316 block, the potential development of the Kasawari field in the same block and other exploration acreage in Block SK316.
“I would be very disappointed if Petronas did not offer Sarawak the option to purchase the stake that it intends to sell. But since the intention is now revealed, I urge the state government to immediately negotiate with Petronas to purchase this stake which includes the producing NC3 gas field currently feeding our LNG9 export project,” See told The Borneo Post yesterday.
“If the late former Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem had not left us abruptly, I am sure that he will press Petronas to sell this stake to us and this will be the launching pad for Sarawak to participate in upstream oil and gas industry, a vision that the former Chief Minister shared with all Sarawakians.
“CM Datuk Amar Abang Johari is now presented with an opportunity to not only continue with the legacy of his predecessor Tan Sri Adenan Satem but to build up the momentum and take the Sarawakian aspiration forward.”
See, who is state PKR vice chairman, said the former chief minister was keen to ensure that Sarawak and Sarawakians would derive and enjoy maximum benefits from the petroleum resources within the territorial boundary of Sarawak.
“Through his leadership, our State Secretary ( Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani) was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors in Petronas, and Petronas had pledged their commitments to ensure that their Sarawak operation will be substantially managed and run by Sarawakians.
“Further, our former CM had also repeatedly declared Sarawak’s vision to invest in the upstream oil and gas projects, that Sarawak wants to be an active participant and not just a mere participant.”
See said Abang Johari, who is believed to have better working relationship with the federal government and enjoying exceptional support from Putrajaya, should timeously set out to achieve the following:
1. Whether he has and when will he follow up with Putrajaya on the strong representation made by Adenan’s administration to the federal government to amend Section 3( 3) and Section 4 of the Territorial Sea Act 2012;
2. That our honourable State Secretary should be an executive director ( and not merely a non- executive director in Petronas) and that he should be given the role to oversee and be consulted on all decisions concerning the oil and gas fields within the territorial boundary of Sarawak;
3. To ensure that we will be an active participant and not just a mere participant in the oil and gas industry in Sarawak, whether the Chief Minister will set up a body such as a state sovereign wealth fund to undertake upstream and downstream oil and gas projects in Sarawak; and
4. Whether the Chief Minister and the State Secretary in pursuing the plan insist that the Human Resource Manager for the Sarawakian Operation must be a Sarawakian, and that a recruitment body be set up under the supervision of the Sarawak State Secretary to ensure the implementation and realisation of the localisation plan.
See said he did not want to speculate as to why Petronas did not consult the Sarawak administration before revealing its plan to sell the stake in SK316 oil field located at the offshore of Sarawak, but he was certain that the Adenan would surely raise his strong displeasure to Petronas, and seriously pursue the acquisition of this stake.
“I certainly hope that our present CM Datuk Amar Abang Johari will show the same mantle in safeguarding and advancing the rights and interests of Sarawak, and do better by taking steps to realise the vision and aspiration of all Sarawakians.”