SINGAPORE (Sept 10): The Malaysian oil-producing states of Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu want more money from their oil and gas resources, but under the Petroleum Development Act (PDA), which governs the industry, they are entitled to only 5% royalty based on gross production.
The PDA also states that all oil and gas resources discovered three nautical miles away from the shores of the states belong to Petroliam Nasional (Petronas), the national oil corporation, as it is the sole custodian of the country’s hydrocarbon resources.
The newly elected Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, in its election manifesto, had promised these states that they could get more revenue, but now — with official oil and gas data available — it seems unsure about how best to do it.
