Malaysia will offer 13 offshore exploration blocks, including discovered fields and deep-water opportunities, as part of its Malaysia Bid Round (MBR) 2021 due to launch on 26 February.
Included in the round are six discovered fields to incentivise investors to undertake more extensive exploration activities within those blocks, Malaysian national oil company (NOC) Petronas said Friday. This year’s round also features four deep-water blocks next to the coast of Sarawak and Sabah, which saw prominent exploration discoveries in recent years, added Petronas.
The round will be launched virtually in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and live-streamed to three different markets in North America, UK and Europe, as well as Asia Pacific. Themed ‘Grow your Energy Portfolio with Us’, MBR 2021 aims to attract investors with unique capabilities to unlock the full potential of the hydrocarbon resources in Malaysia.
“MBR 2021 will feature significant enhancements which include larger block areas coupled with flexible bidding options and low entry costs. We will also be offering relatively new fiscal terms to be applied in the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) such as Enhanced Profitability (EPT) for the shallow water blocks, the Late Life Assets (LLA) and Small Field Assets (SFA) which are designed to match the risk and rewards of the investments with the type of assets available,” said Petronas.
“These terms have been formulated based on the feedback from industry players, taking into account market conditions, further strengthening Malaysia’s position as the oil and gas hub in a growing and thriving market of South East Asia. Besides improved fiscal terms, Malaysia offers good network connectivity by way of established world-class infrastructure which enables ease of monetisation,” added the company.
MBR is an annual bid exercise organised by Petronas. It offers potential investors with different opportunities ranging from exploration blocks, discovered resources to late life assets ,as well as study opportunities, to expand their energy portfolio. Whilst MBR this year focuses on exploration blocks, the opportunities around late life assets and small fields are made available progressively throughout the year, said Petronas.
Apart from issuing and managing petroleum arrangements in Malaysia, Petronas “also plays its role as the country’s oil & gas industry shaper and investment enabler by providing stewardship on upstream petroleum activities in Malaysia. It is the single contact point for investors, which is a unique feature differentiating Petronas against its peers globally,” claims the NOC.