Is this old news? I haven’t heard anyone, Murphy or otherwise, moaning about lost opportunities. Now, does PETRONAS have to pay them for the loss of opportunity and sunken costs to date? And will they pay damages to us small contractors? And will that cost be then transfered to the rakyat?
Taken from the Oil & Gas Journal, dateline 2010-04-22:
LOS ANGELES, Apr. 22 — Murphy Oil Corp.’s interests in Blocks L and M off Malaysia have been terminated after resolution of a dispute with Brunei over control of the assets.
Murphy was informed by state-owned PETORNAS that the two blocks are no longer a part of the country following an agreement between Malaysia and the Sultanate of Brunei.
Murphy said its potential participation in replacement production-sharing contracts (PSCs) covering these areas is “under discussion.”
The announcement follows recent reports that the two southeast Asian countries are trying to implement an agreement made in March 2009 to establish a commercial arrangement area.
That agreement ended a dispute that erupted in 2003 when PETRONAS and Murphy were awarded two offshore leases, SB L and SB M. The blocks overlapped with Brunei’s Blocks J and K, which had been awarded to Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell PLC.
In a recent report, the Economist Intelligence Unit noted that Brunei and Malaysia are “inching closer towards resolving their border disputes.”
EIU noted in particular that “agreement on the land border could pave the way for a deal on the maritime border that would allow both countries to benefit from the discovery of new oil and gas deposits.”
Posted by Wata 
