Petronas subsidiary hands over blocks 01, 02 following PSC natural expiry

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) subsidiary, PC Vietnam Ltd will hand over Blocks 01 and 02, located at the Cuu Long basin offshore Vietnam to the host authority once the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for the blocks expires on September 9, 2017.

The 26-year PSC for the blocks took effect on September 9, 1991, and was Petronas’ first successful international venture. Following the natural expiry of the PSC, PCVL will cease its operations as stipulated by the contract terms.

“We have come a long way since our entry into Vietnam in 1991, which was an important first step at the beginning of our globalisation journey.

“As a pioneer investor in the oil and gas industry of Vietnam, we are proud to have been given the opportunity by the host government to play a significant role in the development of the country’s oil and gas and petrochemical industries,” said Petronas president and group chief executive officer, Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin in a statement yesterday.

“We are also privileged to have participated in Vietnam’s human capital development through structured capability building and localisation programmes for our employees as well as various educational initiatives and sponsorship for deserving and talented young Vietnamese,” he added.

Petronas still runs upstream production activities for Blocks 102 & 106 located at Song Hong Basin, North Vietnam which is operated by PETRONAS Carigali Overseas Sdn Bhd (PCOSB).

The group is also actively committed to pursuing further opportunities in its downstream businesses in the country, particularly in the lubricants and petrochemical sectors. SHORT-TERM interbank rates ended stable yesterday on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) intervention to absorb excess liquidity from the financial system.

The liquidity surplus in the conventional system declined to RM26.51 billion from RM35.16 billion in the morning, while THE Malaysian rubber market rebounded slightly from Wednesday’s losses to end mixed yesterday, as regional rubber futures markets were traded within a tight range, dealers said.

A dealer said the gain was also capped by a stronger ringgit against US dollar.