Malaysia takes advantage of falling global prices

January 1, 2015

Dateline 2014-10-30, Energy Global:

According to Business Monitor International (BMI), the Malaysian government is taking advantage of the falling global oil and fuel prices in the past month to continue its steady reduction of fuel subsidies, with a subsidy cut for RON95 petrol and diesel implemented in October.

Prices for the two fuels rose by US$ 0.06/ltr each. This is the second significant move to tackle fuel subsidies in Malaysia over the past four years; in Q4 2013, the government cut fuel subsidies by approximately US$ 0.06/ltr for the first time in more than two years, as part of its wider efforts at reducing its budget deficit.

Malaysia’s fiscal deficit of 4.5% of GDP was the second highest among Asia’s 13 emerging markets in 2012 according to an IISD report, coming second only to India. The country’s official target is to narrow its fiscal deficit to 3.0% in 2015, with hopes for a balanced budget by 2020. In addition, Malaysia’s national debt is widening. It is the second highest among Asian emerging markets after Sri Lanka, standing at a debt to GDP ratio of approximately 53.3% in 2012.

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Posted by Wata

M’sia to lose billions with oil price fall

December 30, 2014

Dateline 2014-10-28, Free Malaysia Today:

One of the Black Swan events that the current budget did not anticipate is the fall in oil prices.

The Black Swan Theory, developed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, is a metaphor that describes an event of major significance that comes as a surprise. Often psychological biases prevent people from comprehending or anticipating those events individually and collectively.

While the Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah is still talking about having a multi-tiered fuel pricing mechanism, which is essentially a contract for the boys, the Finance Ministry should be concerned with the prospect of failing oil prices.

In my Parliamentary Speech yesterday evening, I called on Prime Minister and Finance Minister Dato Seri Najib Razak to present a ministerial statement on what impact the falling crude oil prices will have on Budget 2015.

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Saturday Star 2014-12-27 – Job Opportunities

December 29, 2014

Happy Umrah Week. Buy my recommendations, or through my Amazon store. Or get the Young Turks series (all 4 books). Where are those corporate sponsors? Or throw donations at me.

  • I’m lining up jobs for next quarter, for IGL Services. Whisper to (better yet, carpe jugulum) your boss, and send work my way.
  • You are welcome to write on open positions in the comments.

Support your local bookshop!  Bookalicious at The Summit Subang is a good choice. I think they focus on trilogies, quadrilogies, and other ologies. Tell them I sent you, and enjoy the look of perplexity on their faces. Those of you who have dropped my name, thanks!

Food choice of the week? How if you visit Vietnam, how about visiting and updating GoHalalVietnam! for your food needs. For your other needs, talk to your local tour guide/ concierge / man on the street.

How about some references to improve your health? I’ve been on this plan for about 16 weeks. Muscles have moved from buttery to rubbery.

You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises, Body by You: The You Are Your Own Gym Guide to Total Women’s Fitness, 100 No-Equipment Workouts

Leave a Comment » | engineering, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Lundin spuds Kitabu wildcat offshore Malaysia

December 28, 2014

Dateline 2014-10-27, Oil & Gas Technology:

Lundin Petroleum has spud the Kitabu-1 exploration well in Block SB307/308, offshore Sabah, Malaysia

Lundin spuds Kitabu wildcat offshore Malaysia

Lundin Petroleum estimates the Kitabu prospect to have the potential to contain unrisked, gross prospective resources of 71 million barrels of oil equivalent

The Kitabu prospect is a stratigraphic trap located four kilometres to the north of the Shell-operated producing South Furious 30 oil field with target reservoirs in onlapping turbidite sandstones of the same Miocene sequence.

Lundin Petroleum estimates the Kitabu prospect to have the potential to contain unrisked, gross prospective resources of 71 million barrels of oil equivalent.

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Posted by Wata

‘Still resilient despite falling oil prices’

December 27, 2014

Dateline 2014-10-23, Borneo Post:

Offshore support velles (sic) (OSV) providers such as Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd (Dayang) are still seen as resilient despite weakening crude oil prices.

Analyst Arhnue Tan of AllianceDBS Research Sdn Bhd said she saw no reason to downgrade earnings for Dayang even if the firm lower crude oil assumptions to US$95 per barrel from a previous US$106 per barrel.

“Dayang’s earnings are driven by the resilient shallow water market in Malaysia, where production costs are low at US$30 to US$50 per barrel,” Tan said in a note to investors on Tuesday.

“Dayang’s earnings are backed by their RM4.5 billion orderbook which offers 3.5 times revenue cover. About 80 per cent of their orderbook consist of five-year hook up and commissioning (HUC) contracts which commenced in 2014. The rest is for topside maintenance activities.”

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Posted by Wata

Ensco confirms two Malaysia rig deaths

December 26, 2014

Dateline 2014-10-21, Upstream:

Ensco has confirmed two oil rig workers were killed in an accident on board the Ensco 104 rig chartered to SapuraKencana off Malaysia.

Kinda short, ain’t it? Longer article here.

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Posted by Wata

Sarawak not likely to get oil royalty increment, say sources

December 25, 2014

Don’t you just love the tafseers and parsing taking place when certain phrases are “quoted”?

Dateline 2014-10-20, The Malaysian Insider:

The chances of Sarawak getting an increase in the oil and gas royalty payment is less likely after two rounds of talks with Petronas is said to have reached a stalemate.

Sources close to the state administration claimed the oil and gas company had reportedly balked at the state’s request to raise the royalty, from 5% to 20%, after both parties failed to agree on the quantum.

The Malaysian Insider learnt that negotiations with Petronas was “heavy going” and the company had given a “myriad of reasons” why it was refusing to meet the 20% request.

The source said a dispute on how the payment quantum should be calculated was also a hurdle too difficult to surmount at the talks.

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Posted by Wata

Show us your numbers, oil and gas expert tells govt

December 24, 2014

Anyone know Anas Alam Faizli?

Dateline 2014-10-16, The Rakyat Post:

This morning, the Malaysian government’s fuel subsidy came to an end — or at least temporarily.

This was when as the price of RON95 fuel bought by the government and the price it was sold to the Malaysian public became equal, according to oil and gas expert Anas Alam Faizli.

“As of this morning, it broke even.

“If the retail price retains at RM2.30 (per litre) and the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) drops further, it becomes a tax,” Anas told The Rakyat Post, pointing out that the price of RON95 was trending downward for the past two weeks.

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Posted by Wata

Petrostate myths; Is cheap fuel a blessing or curse?

December 23, 2014

The article has lousy formatting, making you give your undivided attention to understand it… wait a minute…

Dateline 2014-10-15, The Malaysian Reserve:

It is not an exaggeration to claim that 20th century civilisations are hydrocarbon-based. Maybe many are not aware of this fact of how we are as a species is so dependent, or to be more precise: “addicted” towards this “Black Gold”. We eat, sleep and live by consuming and using petroleum.

In the age where modern science and technology reign supreme, as observed by renowned historian of technology Lewis Mumford, mankind now live in the so-called Paleotechnic age where every nook and cranny of our lives have been mechanised. Modern food production requires huge machineries and rampant usage of pesticides in agribusiness. This has made almost 90% of our food to have direct and indirect linkages to petroleum.

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Leave a Comment » | Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

Saturday Star 2014-12-20 – Job Opportunities

December 22, 2014

On umrah this week. Buy my recommendations, or through my Amazon store. Or get the Young Turks series (all 4 books). Where are those corporate sponsors? Or throw donations at me. I want to go for umrah.

  • I’m lining up jobs for next quarter, for IGL Services. Whisper to (better yet, carpe jugulum) your boss, and send work my way.
  • You are welcome to write on open positions in the comments.

Support your local bookshop!  Bookalicious at The Summit Subang is a good choice. I think they focus on trilogies, quadrilogies, and other ologies. Tell them I sent you, and enjoy the look of perplexity on their faces. Those of you who have dropped my name, thanks!

Food choice of the week? How if you visit Vietnam, how about visiting and updating GoHalalVietnam! for your food needs. For your other needs, talk to your local tour guide/ concierge / man on the street.

How about some references to improve your health? I’ve been on this plan for about 16 weeks. Muscles have moved from buttery to rubbery.

You Are Your Own Gym: The Bible of Bodyweight Exercises, Body by You: The You Are Your Own Gym Guide to Total Women’s Fitness, 100 No-Equipment Workouts

Leave a Comment » | engineering, Malaysia, oil and gas | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Wata

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