‘RM9bil Petronas deal given to 108 firms’

azmin: opportunities for locals in oil and gas industry

MORE than 100 companies have benefited from Petronas’ vendor development programme (VDP) with contracts worth about RM9bil disbursed.

Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali said the programme was among various initiatives taken to enable more local vendors to participate actively and competitively in the oil and gas industry.

“Under Petronas VDP, 108 companies have benefited with contracts worth some RM9bil as of October this year,” he told Datuk Seri Hasan Arifin (BN-Rompin) during Question Time.

Hasan asked the ministry to state the amount of international consultants hired by Petronas, following complaints by local industry players that they were not given opportunities and trust to carry out such work.

Azmin said between January and August this year, local consultants dominated 60% of the companies hired by Petronas.

“For specific and technical working scopes such as engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning, digital and proprietary technology, local expertise is still limited so there is a need to outsource.

“For instance, the seismic deep water acquisition services technology; it is limited to global companies. Such expertise is not provided by local consultants or can be developed within a short period by Petronas.

“There are only four global firms that provide seismic deep water acquisition services in the world.

“Petronas has to appoint these international consultants and vendors to ensure the sustainability of the projects in meeting its critical objectives,” he said.

Azmin also said that Petronas was serious in efforts to develop the capacity and capabilities of local consultants such as in the exploration and production of oil and gas in Turkmenistan and Myanmar.

“Malaysian consultants were involved directly, considering the infrastructure and expertise of the countries were limited. This allowed them to be involved in new markets.”