Julaihi: Not Blackmail to ask Petronas to respect Sarawak's laws

 

Julaihi: Not blackmail to ask Petronas to respect Sarawak’s laws     By Marilyn Ten on November 18, 2024, Monday at 6:34 PM

KUCHING (Nov 18): Utility and Telecommunication Minister Dato Sri Julaihi Narawi has brushed off claims that Sarawak’s call for Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) to respect its law is an act of blackmail.

“It is neither a threat nor an act of blackmail. It is a legitimate demand grounded in legal rights,” he said.

Speaking at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sitting where he delivered his ministerial winding-up speech, the Sebuyau assemblyman said Sarawak accounted for over 60 per cent of the natural gas produced in Malaysia – of which 94 per cent is used by Petronas to convert into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export to Korea and Japan to support the industries in these countries.

“However, all the gas produced offshore Peninsular Malaysia are retained for use in the States of Malaya, to support industries and sold for power generation by independent power producers at subsidised rates.

“In stark contrast, only six per cent of Sarawak’s natural gas is allocated for local industries and power generation, with prices dictated by Petronas. Foreign investors who wish to set up industries in Sarawak were repeatedly told that there is no gas available for them.

“Consequentially, these investors chose other destinations for their investments, depriving Sarawak of crucial economic opportunities. Petronas’ gas small allocation for use in Sarawak does not support industrial development in Sarawak,” he explained.

To address this imbalance and ensure adequate supply of gas for local industries and for Sarawak’s energy transition programme, Julaihi said the Sarawak government has developed a Sarawak Gas Road Map and appointed Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros) as the gas aggregator to procure, allocate and distribute gas to ensure that there would be adequate supply of gas for use by industries in Sarawak.

“At the request of the Sarawak government, Petronas has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Petros to use its best endeavour to allocate 1.2 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) by 2030 to support the Sarawak Gas Road Map.

“However, until today Petronas has yet to identify where the allocated volume of gas would be sourced and when the gas fields would be developed,” he said.

He also said that since the 1980s, Petronas had not invested in gas distribution infrastructures except to supply to the LNG plants to produce LNG for exports.

“Hence, Petros had to build a pipeline from Bintulu to deliver gas to Samalaju for both power generation and to support the heavy industries there,” he added.

He stressed the Sarawak government has always called for collaboration between Petros and Petronas but the recent conduct and action by Petronas does not demonstrate the national oil company intends to have an amicable solution.

“Regrettably, Petronas does not seem to respect and abide by our laws such as the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016 or to cooperate with Petros to enable Petros to carry out its statutory functions in the interests of Sarawakians.

“Compliance with these legal frameworks is not optional — it is a statutory duty that must be honoured by all parties,” he said.

He said since the enforcement of the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA), the cumulative value of petroleum produced and obtained in Sarawak by Petronas and the federal government up to 2014 was RM1 trillion, with only 5 per cent or RM 50 billion thereof returned to Sarawak in the form of cash payment pursuant to Section 4 of the PDA.

“With such enormous contribution to the national coffers, Sarawak deserves better attention, treatment and support from Petronas.

“The least Petronas should do is to comply with our laws when operating in Sarawak and allocate and make available more gas to support the industrial development of Sarawak and its transition towards a green economy,” he said.

Earlier in his speech, Julaihi said the Sarawak government’s ongoing efforts to defend its rights to natural gas resources must be respected and cannot be disputed by all parties, including Petronas and biased individuals.

“These rights, which are based on Sarawak laws that are still in force until now, are very important in ensuring the government’s efforts to be fully in control natural gas resources for the well-being of the people of Sarawak in particular and Malaysia in general.

“Therefore, I would like to reiterate that the appointment of Petros as the sole gas aggregator is final and non-negotiable. This means that there is no other gas aggregator in Sarawak except Petros,” he stressed.

He said it was high time that Malaysian leaders open their eyes and minds to see a more comprehensive national development perspective and not one that is tied to the development perspective around Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur alone.

“Malaysia comprises of the Peninsula, Sarawak and Sabah. Therefore, this is not just about talking about the interests of Sarawak alone but also about strengthening and improving the economic sector throughout the country,” he remarked.

Julaihi：要求国油尊重砂拉越法律并非勒索

 

古晋（11月18日）：公用事业和电信部长拿督Julaihi驳斥了砂拉越要求国家石油公司（Petronas）尊重其法律是勒索行为的说法。

“

这既不是威胁，也不是勒索行为。这是基于合法权利的合法要求，”他说。

 

这位诗巫议员在州立法议会（DUN）发表部长级清算演讲时表示，砂拉越占马来西亚生产的天然气的60％以上，其中94％被马来西亚国家石油公司用于转化转化为液化天然气（LNG）出口到韩国和日本，以支持这些国家的工业。

 

“然而，马来西亚半岛近海生产的所有天然气都保留在马来亚各州使用，以支持工业，并由独立发电商以补贴价格出售用于发电。

 

“形成鲜明对比的是，砂拉越只有百分之六的天然气分配给当地工业和发电，价格由国油决定。希望在砂拉越建立工业的外国投资者一再被告知没有天然气可供他们使用。

 

“因此，这些投资者选择了其他投资目的地，从而剥夺了砂拉越重要的经济机会。国油在砂拉越使用的小额天然气分配并不支持砂拉越的工业发展。”

 

Julaihi表示，为了解决这种不平衡问题，并确保当地工业和砂拉越能源转型计划有足够的天然气供应，砂拉越政府已制定了砂拉越天然气路线图，并指定砂拉越石油公司（Petros）作为天然气聚合商，负责采购、分配和分销。天然气，以确保砂拉越工业有足够的天然气供应。

 

“应砂拉越政府的要求，国油已与 Petros 签署谅解备忘录，尽最大努力在 2030 年之前分配每天 12 亿标准立方英尺（bscf/d），以支持砂拉越天然气路线图。

 

“然而，直到今天，马来西亚国家石油公司尚未确定所分配的天然气量将来自何处以及何时开发气田，”他说。

 

他还表示，自20世纪80年代以来，国油除了向液化天然气工厂供应天然气以生产出口液化天然气外，没有投资天然气分配基础设施。

 

“因此，Petros必须从民都鲁修建一条管道，将天然气输送到Samalaju，用于发电并支持那里的重工业，”他补充道。

 

他强调，砂拉越政府一直呼吁Petronas和Petros合作，但Petronas 最近的行为和行动并不表明Petronas公司打算达成友好解决方案。

 

“遗憾的是，Petronas似乎没有尊重和遵守我们的法律，例如《2016 年天然气分配条例》，也没有与 Petros 合作，使 Petros 能够为了砂拉越人的利益履行其法定职能。”

 

“遵守这些法律框架不是可选的，而是各方必须遵守的法定义务，”他说。

 

他说，自1974年石油发展法令（PDA）实施以来，截至2014年，Petronas和联邦政府在砂拉越生产和获得的石油累计价值为1万亿令吉，其中只有5％或500亿令吉回馈给砂拉越。砂拉越根据 PDA 第 4 条以现金支付。

 

“砂拉越对国库做出如此巨大的贡献，理应得到国油更好的关注、待遇和支持。

 

他说：“国油至少应该做的是在砂拉越运营时遵守我们的法律，并分配和提供更多天然气，以支持砂拉越的工业发展及其向绿色经济的转型。”

 

朱莱希早些时候在讲话中表示，砂拉越政府捍卫其天然气资源权利的持续努力必须受到尊重，并且不能受到包括国油和有偏见的个人在内的各方的争议。

 

“这些权利是基于迄今为止仍然有效的砂拉越法律，对于确保政府努力完全控制天然气资源，以造福砂拉越人民和整个马来西亚人民的福祉非常重要。

 

“因此，我想重申，Petros 被指定为唯一的天然气聚合商是最终决定，不容谈判。这意味着除了 Petros 之外，砂拉越没有其他天然气聚合商。”

 

他说，马来西亚领导人现在应该睁开眼睛和思想，看到更全面的国家发展前景，而不是仅仅与布城和吉隆坡周围的发展前景挂钩。

 

“马来西亚由半岛、砂拉越和沙巴组成。因此，这不仅仅是谈论砂拉越的利益，也是加强和改善全国经济领域的问题。”