TNB: Drop in coal, gas prices won’t affect electricity tariff

May 20, 2019

Dateline 2019-04-04, Malay Mail:

The recent drop in global coal and gas prices would not likely affect the electricity tariff in Malaysia as they are still higher than the base prices set during the three-year revision in 2018, says Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).

Chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie said the current coal and gas prices of about US$90 per tonne and RM28 per MMBtu are higher than the US$75 per tonne and RM27.20 per MMBtu during the revision.


IEM Shout Out – 2019-05 Talk on “HAZOP”

May 7, 2019

My technical division will be hosting a talk on the 11th May 2019. It is worth XX CPD points, and held at Wisma IEM. The talk will be presented by yours truly, so come and fill seats, especially since I am giving it during the fasting month.

A Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) study is a formal, systematic and detailed examination of new or existing facilities. It focusses on the process, rather than risks from ‘outside the pipe’, which are better analyzed using other studies such as HIREC/ HAZID/ HER. A HAZOP assesses the hazard potential, causes and consequences on a facility when there are deviations to the operating conditions, or the manner of operations. Existing safeguards need are reviewed to determine whether they can eliminate the cause or minimize the consequence.

Ir. Razmahwata has 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, in both design and operations. He joined ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc shortly after graduation in 1995. In 1998, he was reassigned to EMEPMI’s operations department. His responsibility was to provide technical support to an offshore production facility. His tasks were varied, included troubleshooting day to day challenges, managing retrofit projects, and leading safety cases. He was made the Company’s custody metering engineer in 2001, charged with leading the exercise to ensure the Company compliance with industry and company specifications was enhanced. Whilst in Poyry, Ir. Razmahwata has been a Senior Process Engineer for SembCorp’s Betara project. He has HAZOP, HAZID and SIL workshop leadership experience on offshore facilities. He has recently worked on a secondment providing detailed design services to a tanker to FPSO conversion project in Singapore. He supported ExxonMobil in developing measurement manuals, and leading an exercise to validate 59,000 line items. He is currently the Lead Engineer of IGL Services Sdn Bhd.

Register here, or download the form here.


Murphy’s Exit: Good But Not Great

May 6, 2019

Dateline 2019-03-27, Seeking Alpha (Not Susan):

Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) decided to exit Malaysia by selling its assets to PTT Exploration and Production (OTCPK:PEXNY) for $2.13B, which represents a full monetization of its 2P (Proved and Probable) reserves. Although the deal is positive because it materializes the firm’s geographic strategy to focus on US opportunities, we believe the true impact of the transaction in the long term will be determined by the way management will reinvest the money.

At stake are $750M, which MUR determined to be destined to fund potential acquisitions and fund both deep-water projects (probably Gulf of Mexico) and U.S. onshore opportunities (Eagle Ford).

At the moment, Norwegian Equinor (EQNR) and Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) are marketing their respective acreage in the Eagle Ford, which could spark MUR’s interest considering the company’s plans on increasing activity at Karnes, Tilden, and Catarina.


Exclusive – Murphy Oil closing in on sale of Malaysian oil, gas assets to PTTEP: sources

April 30, 2019

Dateline 2019-03-21, Reuters:

Murphy Oil Corp is nearing a deal to sell its Malaysian oil and gas assets to Thailand’s PTTEP PCL, people familiar with the matter said, in the latest energy M&A transaction in the Southeast Asian nation.

The independent U.S. oil and gas exploration and production company could announce a deal, valued at just over $2 billion (1.52 billion pounds), with the Thai energy company as early as Thursday, said one source, who declined to be identified as the news is not public.

Reuters reported in November, citing sources, that Murphy Oil was in talks to sell the assets after an unsolicited bid that could fetch between $2 billion to $3 billion.


Malaysia set to become LPG and LNG hub by 2022, says deputy minister

April 22, 2019

Dateline 2019-03-07, Malay Mail:

Malaysia is set to become the storage and distribution hub of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the region within the next three years, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar said.

He said the hub was being developed in collaboration with Singapore’s Global Petro Storage Group (GPS) and Norway’s Equinor, both of whom were global players in the industry.

 

 


Malaysia, Brunei express satisfaction over oil and gas collaboration

April 4, 2019

Dateline 2019-03-05, The Star:

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah have expressed satisfaction at the continued collaboration between Petronas and PetroleumBrunei during the Malaysia-Brunei Annual Leaders’ Consultation framework in Putrajaya.
The leaders said they would continue working together to commercialise the Commercial Arrangement Area (CAA) discoveries as soon as possible through the CAA and Production Sharing Agreements (PSA), it said in a joint statement on Tuesday (March 5).


CLIQ Energy to be delisted on March 4

March 26, 2019

Dateline 2019-02-27, The Sun:

CLIQ Energy Bhd will be delisted from Bursa Malaysia on next Monday, March 4, the company said today.
“The entire issued share capital of CLIQ will be removed from the official list of Bursa Securities with effect from 9am, March 4, 2019 pursuant to Paragraph 16.11(1)(d) of the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities,” it told Bursa Malaysia in a filing.
CLIQ, which is the second oil and gas special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to list on Bursa Malaysia, announced in February 2016 that it would be liquidated after failing to secure its qualifying acquisition within three years.
Trading in its shares was suspended on Oct 5, 2016.


Limited output disruption from fire at Malaysia’s Bintulu LNG plant: sources

March 25, 2019

Dateline 2019-02-25, S&P Global:

Malaysia’s Bintulu LNG plant is expected to experience limited production disruptions or cargo loading delays after a fire broke out at the plant on Friday morning, industry sources told S&P Global Platts.
Authorities at the Petronas facility have gotten the situation under control and there is little likelihood of a significant production impact as a result, according to two sources familiar with the matter.


Oil and gas sector hires more local graduates, trims forex losses

March 21, 2019

Dateline 2019-02-19, NST:

Skilled local workforce has helped major oil and gas (O&G) cushion the global weak oil prices, ringgit fluctuations and foreign exchange (forex losses) over the past few years.

Analysts said companies such as Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), Sapura Energy Bhd, Alam Maritim Bhd, Barakah Offshore Bhd and others has hired local professionals and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) graduates to reduce costs, which is part of the companies’ cost cutting measures.

Sunway University Business School Professor of Economics Dr Yeah Kim Leng said the O&G sector is a very specialised high technology sector which requires a lot of specialised skills to work at oil rigs and fabrication yards.

“In the early days, these niche areas required foreign expertise and was dominated by expatriates but now firms such as Petronas and Sapura no longer hire foreign professionals but source local engineers from the O&G field.

“This in turn has enabled the country to save a lot in terms of foreign exchange as it is very expensive to pay the foreign engineers.

“Now Malaysia is able to produce its own local oil and gas engineers, technicians and supervisors,” Yeah told NST Business recently.


Local O&G companies continue to be hurt by 2014 oil rout

March 18, 2019

I hurt.

Dateline 2019-02-18, Malaysian Reserve:

The 2014 global oil rout continues to impact the oil and gas (O&G) sector in the country.
Perisai Petroleum Teknologi Bhd’s regularisation plan was rejected by Bursa Malaysia and its share was suspended on Jan 22. The company had appealed the decision on Feb 8 and its official delisting from the Main Market is pending the outcome of the appeal.
CLIQ Energy Bhd distributed RM6.12 million from its trust account to shareholders on Jan 31 after the special-purpose acquisition company failed to secure a qualifying asset within the three-year deadline and will soon be delisted.
Scomi Group Bhd is also reeling from the 2014 oil fiasco.