Petronas to offer 13 offshore exploration blocks in new bid round

Malaysian energy giant Petronas will be offering 13 offshore exploration blocks in Malaysia at the upcoming Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2021 launch on 26 February 2021 with terms based on feedback from industry players.

Also included are six discovered fields to incentivise investors to undertake more extensive exploration activities within those blocks, Petronas said on Friday.

This year’s MBR also features the offering of four deepwater blocks adjacent to the coast of Sarawak and Sabah, which saw prominent exploration discoveries in recent years.

According to Petronas, the MBR 2021 launch event will be held virtually in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and live-streamed to three different markets namely North America, United Kingdom and Europe, as well as Asia Pacific.

Themed ‘Grow your Energy Portfolio with Us’, MBR 2021 aims to attract investors with unique capabilities to unlock the full potential of the hydrocarbon resources in Malaysia.

Petronas Senior Vice President of Malaysia Petroleum Management (MPM), Mohamed Firouz Asnan, said: “MBR 2021 will feature significant enhancements which include larger block areas coupled with flexible bidding options and low entry costs. We will also be offering relatively new fiscal terms to be applied in the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) such as Enhanced Profitability (EPT) for the shallow-water blocks, the Late Life Assets (LLA) and Small Field Assets (SFA) which are designed to match the risk and rewards of the investments with the type of assets available.

“These terms have been formulated based on the feedback from industry players, taking into account market conditions, further strengthening Malaysia’s position as the oil and gas hub in a growing and thriving market of South East Asia. Besides improved fiscal terms, Malaysia offers good network connectivity by way of established world-class infrastructure which enables ease of monetisation”, he added.

MBR is an annual bid exercise organised by Petronas, which offers potential investors with different opportunities ranging from exploration blocks, discovered resources to late life assets as well as study opportunities to grow their energy portfolio.

Whilst MBR this year focuses on exploration blocks, the opportunities around late life assets and small fields are made available progressively throughout the year.

Apart from issuing and managing petroleum arrangements in Malaysia, Petronas also plays its role as the country’s oil & gas industry shaper and investment enabler by providing stewardship on upstream petroleum activities in Malaysia.