Rumours O&G company closing Miri office not true — Lee

MIRI: Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin has expressed surprise at the rumours that a medium- size oil and gas company is closing its office here and relocating its staff to its KL headquarters.

“I have not heard of anything like that, and the HR ( Human Resource Department) of the company said it is not true,” he said when contacted.

The Senadin assemblyman was asked to comment on the buzz on social media that the company was retrenching about 100 of its staff through voluntary separation scheme ( VSS) and relocating some of them to its KL office.

The rumours said the company’s production and exploration staff in Sarawak would be retained and most likely to be based in Bintulu while those who refuse to be relocated would not be paid any compensation. With the notice expected to be out this month and those relocated to KL would start work in January next year, many are in a dilemma as they are not ready for relocation due to family commitments here as well as the high cost of living in KL.

Another source told The Borneo Post that the closing of the office is unlikely although some people may be posted to the KL office.

Downsizing and restructuring of companies is the norm in recent years ever since oil prices crashed in 2014, and news of this foreign company pulling out of Miri raised eyebrows as it has substantial involvement in oil and gas exploration and production activities in Sabah and Sarawak.

Calls to the company for comments were unsuccessful.