By Peter Marajin (In response to YB Datuk Rahman Dahlan in today's Borneo Post, January 4, 2013)Oil is a State owned natural resource. If it is not profitable, then why did the Federal Government saw it fit to snatch this important resource of revenue from the Sabah in the first place?
Petronas has never been transparent in its operation and financial account since 1976 until today. Why is Petronas so secretive? Since this natural resources belongs to the rakyat of Sabah, the rakyat have every right to know its operations and financial position. Petronas' money is the Sabahans' money. Hence, the Petronas' account must be subject to public scrutiny.
The only small piece of information which has reached the public knowledge about Petronas' operation is that Sabah produces about One Million barrels of crude oil per day out of which 5% goes to Sabah, being the oil producing State, and another 5% goes to the Federal Government. After deducting operating costs the nett profit of the remaining 90% barrels goes to the Federal Government being the sole shareholder and beneficiary of Petronas. By a rough calculation based on the above information Sabah gets 50,000.00 barrels a day (i.e. based on the 5%) which equal to 4.45,000 USD (or RM13.7 Million) a day. A year is RM4.97 Billion. Now, how much nett profit does the Federal Government get out of the remaining 90% or 900,000 barrels a day is anyone's guess.
If Petronas cannot manage its operation after 15% increase of royalty to Sabah as YB Datuk Rahman Dahlan claimed, then being an MP for BN he should now advise Petronas to close shop. It would be prudent for Petronas to give back its operation to the Sabah State Government. The State Government would then decide either to manage its oil industry by itself or award its oil operation to competent oil companies like Shell and or others. After all, after 36 years Sabahans have not benefited much from their very own oil and gas resources. In fact, Sabah has turned into a POOREST land in the country.
It is rather absurd for Petronas to complain now about its operating costs and non-profitability after 36 years in operation. It is like a father on a dinner table with his children, saying "This fish taste awful" discouraging them to not even touch it, yet he himself walloping it into his stomach all by himself.
Peter Marajin is Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Supreme Councillor and a practising lawyer.
Sabah’s oil and gas industry is set for a big step forward when five key projects of Petronas in Sabah come onstream this year.
ReplyDeleteThe five projects are Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT), Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP), Kimanis Power Plant (KPP), Kimanis Petroleum Training Centre (KTC) and Kinabalu Non Associated Gas (NAG) upstream development.
ReplyDeletedisclosed that the RM3.8 billion SOGT project in Kimanis, which is an onshore oil and gas receiving, storage, processing and export terminal, will receive the resources via subsea pipelines from three offshore upstream projects – Gumusut-Kakap, Kababangan and Kinabalu NAG.
ReplyDeleteDatuk Seri Musa Aman berkata janji Pakatan Rakyat untuk
ReplyDeletemeningkatkan bayaran royalti minyak Sabah dari 5 peratus kepada 20
peratus merupakan janji yang tidak logik.
wang dari hasil minyak Sabah disalurkan semula ke negeri itu melalui perbelanjaan oleh kerajaan persekutuan.
ReplyDeletesebagai sebahagian sebuah negara kita perlu ada
ReplyDeletetolak ansur, kita sedar sejak sabah bersama-sama membentuk Malaysia, kerajaan pusat telah membelanjakan berbilion ringgit bagi membangun
pelbagai infrastruktur termasuk sekolah hospital, jalan raya dan
sebagainya.
Itu belum lagi dicampur dengan kos pertahanan dan kesealamatan negeri yangmemakan belanja besar.
ReplyDeleteKita perlu mengambil kira banyak pengagihan lain yang diberikan oleh kerajaan pusat melalui pelbagai kaedah, kita perlu lihat dari skop yang
ReplyDeletelebih luas.
Lima projek utama Petronas di Sabah, yang diumumkan pada 2011, akan mula beroperasi tahun ini, menandakan satu lagi kejayaan penting bagi industri minyak dan gas negeri.
ReplyDeleteProjek-projek itu ialah Terminal Minyak dan Gas Sabah (SOGT), Saluran Paip Gas Sabah-Sarawak (SSGP), Stesen Janakuasa Kimanis (KPP), Pusat
ReplyDeletelatihan Petroleum Kimanis (KTC), dan pembangunan huluan Bukan Berkaitan Gas Kinabalu (NAG).
projek-projek tersebut berjalan dengan lancar, mencapai sasaran dalam pelaksanaan masing-masing.
ReplyDeleteProjek-projek ini, kebanyakannya bertaraf
ReplyDeletedunia, merupakan sebahagian daripada rancangan keseluruhan Petronas untuk mengoptimumkan nilai sumber minyak dan gas yang ditemui di luar pesisir pantai Sabah.
Petronas pada 2011 mengumumkan pelbagai projek, huluan dan juga hiliran, melibatkan gabungan perbelanjaan modal sebanyak RM45 bilion.
ReplyDeletePelan ini juga termasuk Loji Urea Ammonia Sabah (SAMUR) di Sipitang dan Terminal Pengegasan Semula Lahad Datu.
ReplyDelete