O&G industry gaining momentum, more biddings globally

KUALA LUMPUR: The oil and gas (O& G) industry is starting to gain momentum with more bidding activities across the globe, says Yinson Holdings Bhd.

Group chief executive officer Lim Chern Yuan said the higher global oil prices, which has stabilised near US$ 80 per barrel, had also suggested that there were more developments in the O& G industry, and subsequently, more demand for floating, production, storage and offloading ( FPSO) facilities.

“We see more bidding activities globally and we are in a good position because we have strengthened our balance sheet and human resources over the years,” he told a press conference after Yinson’s annual general meeting yesterday.

He was optimistic that the demand for FPSOs over the next two years was expected to increase, especially considering that there had been underinvestment in the O& G business in recent years.

As of May this year, Yinson’s order book amounted to US$ 4.3 billion, which would keep the FPSO service provider busy until 2037.

Lim said the group had secured one project in Malaysia this year and it was also in an exclusive negotiations with an O& G company, First Exploration & Petroleum Development Co Ltd (First E& P), in Nigeria.

“First E& P and Yinson are both very aligned to sign something definitive hopefully in September, however, it is a long- term contract which involves a lot of things,” he said, but declined to disclose the estimated contract value.

Lim added that Yinson would historically bid for FSPO projects in the African and Asian regions, however, it had started to expand its horizon to include the Americas. — Bernama