A question that was asked of me was, why are there no independent oil and gas operators in Malaysia? It’s an intriguing one, for those of us who used to watch Dallas on TV (remember when there were on 2 channels on air, and they didn’t run 24/7?).
Let’s get some definitions out of the way. I refer to the ever reliable Wikipedia:
Supermajors are “the six largest, non state-owned energy companies, as seen in popular financial mediums around the world.” Chances are, if you are asked to name four oil companies, one of them is your national oil company (PETRONAS to me), and the other three are either supermajors, or components of supermajors prior to consolidation. Exxon and Mobil, Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company, Abbot and Costello.
‘Seven Sisters‘ is a term coined by an Italian entrepreneur, Enrico Mattei, that refers to seven oil companies that dominated mid 20th century oil production, refining, and distribution. These were companies that were formed by the breakup Standard Oil of the US. Still huge companies.
Now things become a bit more interesting. Independent oil companies aren’t something you hear of often.
I think is that people confuse independent companies with family or privately owned companies. One definition which I have found is ‘a non-integrated company which receives nearly all of its revenues from production at the wellhead. They are exclusively in the exploration and production segment of the industry, with no downstream marketing or refining within their operations.’
This is taken straight from the Independent Petroleum Association of America’s (IPAA) 2007 Oil and Natural Gas Issues Briefing Book.
Using that definition, we do have independent producers in Malaysia. Examples are Talisman Energy, Lundin Oil and Newfield.
Not every non-supermajor is an independent. Murphy Oil has retail outlets, Nippon Oil Explorationis a wholly own subsidiary of Nippon Oil Corporation.
Enough definition for ya?
Posted by Wata 
Wata - Malaysian Oil and Gas Engineer 