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Oil & Gas Update

Posted on: Tuesday, 21 February 2006, 21:00 CST

MOGSC TO AID GROWTH OF OIL & GAS SERVICES

THE Malaysian Oil & Gas Services Council (MOGSC), the first outfit to represent services companies in both the upstream and downstream levels, is looking at carving out business opportunities for its 63 members.

The council, launched on Nov 28 in Kuala Lumpur, is seeking to identify business platforms, seek new opportunities and promote healthy partnerships in the domestic, regional and global markets.

`In achieving those objectives, we will work closely with all oil and gas majors, quasi-government bodies, business organisations related to oil and gas, and foreign or international organisations and representatives in the country,' said President Tengku Datuk Ibrahim Petra Tengku Indra Petra at the council's launch.

Council members, mustering a market capitalisation of more than RM4.5 billion on Bursa Malaysia, include corporations like Petra Resources Sdn Bhd, MMC Oil & Gas Engineering Sdn Bhd, UMW Corp Sdn Bhd, KNM Process Systems Sdn Bhd and Sime Engineering Sdn Bhd.

When launching the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who was represented by the Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, noted the importance of industry players reinventing their competitive edge to ensure success abroad.

`You will no longer be shielded or be entitled to special privileges. You will be treated like any other foreign contractors,' he said. Hence the need for companies to upgrade their capabilities, knowledge and skills to compete internationally.

WORLD GAS CONFERENCE IN MALAYSIA

MALAYSIA will play host to the International Gas Union (IGU) presidency for the 2009-2012 triennium, giving Kuala Lumpur the privilege to host the 25th World Gas Conference in 2012 for the first time.

The Malaysian Gas Association (MGA) recently won the bid for the international event.

With the event in hand, MGA President Datuk Abdul Rahim Hashim assumes the post of IGU vice-president at its council meeting in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in June next year before taking over the presidency in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2009. Abdul Rahim is also Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) vice-president of gas business.

The MGA, the Malaysian Charter member of IGU, includes in its roll call companies like Petronas, Shell, ExxonMobil, BP, Petronas Gas Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Gas Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Malakoff Bhd, Delcom Services Sdn Bhd, Dialog Group Bhd and Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd.

The triennial World Gas Conference is an important and prestigious event for the gas industry. It is expected to attract some 5,000 top echelon industry leaders and specialists.

'Malaysia is also committed towards bringing more developing countries into the IGU fold through Petronas' extensive international operations and Association of Southeast Asian networks,' says Petronas in a statement on the successful bid.

B&O FOCUSES ON OIL AND GAS

BELL & Order Bhd (B&O), now known as Scomi Engineering Bhd, will no longer be concentrating its interest in the field of construction.

Following a shareholders' meeting in November, the corporation is now all geared to shift its attention to the oil and gas industry.

The extraordinary general meeting approved all resolutions to allow for the shift.

This comes in the wake of the reverse takeover exercise where listed Scomi Group Bhd has proposed to sell its manufacturing business and its transportation engineering division to B&O for RM285 million. In return, B&O will offer 192.56 million shares to Scomi, which will end up holding 71% of B&O.

On top of that, shareholders have also agreed to change the company's name to Scomi Engineering.

TANJUNG OFFSHORE BAGS RM85 MILLION JOB

OIL and gas provider Tanjung Offshore Bhd will be supplying a mobile offshore production unit (Mopu) facility to Britain's Petrofac Ltd, which is involved in marginal oilfield drilling work off the coast of Terengganu.

The two-year contract worth RM85 million involves deploying the Mopu facility comprising a jack-up drilling rig converted into an oil and gas platform and supported by a floating, storage and offloading vessel.

Speaking to the media after the company's annual general meeting on Nov 9, Tanjung Offshore's Managing Director Omar Khalid said the company is the local outfit that provides the new service.

`We believe that it is a suitable business to pursue as global oil prices hit record levels.... We believe such projects would continue to increase,' he said.

With that project in hand, Tanjung Offshore is now eyeing a slice of the action in Myanmar, where it intends to provide marine vessels to capture a larger customer base.

THAILAND OVERDEPENDENT ON NATURAL GAS

THAILAND needs to diversify its energy sources to reduce the country's dependence on natural gas, according to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

With the expected price rise of natural gas prices together with oil prices, the premier noted that diversifying fuel sources used for electricity generation is key to reduce economic risks in the future.

Natural gas, according to a Bangkok Post report, currently accounts for 77% of total electricity production, with coal representing 13%, hydropower 5% and bunker and diesel fuel the remainder 5%. Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, play a negligible role in overall electricity generation.

The Thai daily, quoting sources, said that Thaksin told policymakers that long-term planning was needed to develop alternatives to natural gas over the next 15 years. New power plants, now being planned and slated to come online after 2010 for the national electricity grid, should also be developed to use other energy sources besides gas.

Authorities, the report added, say coal is likely to be the only acceptable alternative fuel source, given the strong public opposition to dams and nuclear power.

PETRONAS 1H NET PROFIT RM16.87 BILLION

PETROLIAM Nasional Bhd (Petronas) saw another bumper crop when it recorded a 23% increase in its half-year net profit on the back of high global oil prices and lower production.

For the half-year ended Sept 30, the national oil and gas company posted a net profit of RM20.67 billion compared to RM16.87 billion the year before.

It also saw an increase in its revenue to RM80.82 billion from RM64.50 billion the year before.

Source: Malaysian Business

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