Sabah hopes to get same attention as Sarawak on petroleum royalty
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| Musa Aman |
Sabah hopes to get a stake in the profitable operations of Petronas, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.
This was among the ways the state could earn more from the oil and gas resources harvested from Sabah’s offshore, he added.
Musa said this was a more viable alternative compared to asking for an increase in its share of oil royalties from the Federal Government.
“We are asking for a 25% stake in Petronas Sabah Urea Amonia (Samur) project in Sipitang,” he said when opening the Kota Kinabalu Umno meeting here yesterday.
“That equity will eventually translate into billions of ringgit in revenue for the state,” he added.
He said the Sabah government was also keen on seeing more local firms participate in the oil and gas industry.
“It is not necessary for us to rely on collecting revenues but instead become key players in activities like offshore exploration activities,” Musa added.
Sabah felt that it was better to hold talks with Putrajaya and come up with a win-win solution, he said.
In this regard, he said there was also growing acceptance here of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s statement that a formula would be worked out to address the call to increase oil royalties for Sabah.
The Prime Minister said the Government, together with Petronas, would decide on various methods to improve Sabah’s economy, adding that the national petroleum company would increase its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in Sabah.
Najib explained that there were many approaches which could be applied to it, but not necessarily increase the percentage of oil royalties, as mooted by the Opposition.
Najib said Petronas would, among others, help more rural students, provide more scholarships and increase its funding in its CSR programmes here.
This was among the ways the state could earn more from the oil and gas resources harvested from Sabah’s offshore, he added.
Musa said this was a more viable alternative compared to asking for an increase in its share of oil royalties from the Federal Government.
“We are asking for a 25% stake in Petronas Sabah Urea Amonia (Samur) project in Sipitang,” he said when opening the Kota Kinabalu Umno meeting here yesterday.
“That equity will eventually translate into billions of ringgit in revenue for the state,” he added.
He said the Sabah government was also keen on seeing more local firms participate in the oil and gas industry.
“It is not necessary for us to rely on collecting revenues but instead become key players in activities like offshore exploration activities,” Musa added.
Sabah felt that it was better to hold talks with Putrajaya and come up with a win-win solution, he said.
In this regard, he said there was also growing acceptance here of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s statement that a formula would be worked out to address the call to increase oil royalties for Sabah.
The Prime Minister said the Government, together with Petronas, would decide on various methods to improve Sabah’s economy, adding that the national petroleum company would increase its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in Sabah.
Najib explained that there were many approaches which could be applied to it, but not necessarily increase the percentage of oil royalties, as mooted by the Opposition.
Najib said Petronas would, among others, help more rural students, provide more scholarships and increase its funding in its CSR programmes here.
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