by Ganesh Sahathevan
The Star and ANN quoting Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reported:
“Malaysia will not back down from its claims. That is why the exploration by PETRONAS continues, even though it has been raised by China,” he said during Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Oct 15).
He also said territorial disputes in the area involved other countries and so China should not be made the sole focus of the issue.
“(These countries include) Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.
“That’s why we don’t agree if this problem is focused on China,” he added in response to a supplementary question by Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Baru).However, Anwar gave an assurance that the country’s firm stance would not hinder diplomatic relations, trade and friendships with the nations concerned
The Star report is generally faithful to Anwar's speech in Malay, reported in part by CNA (see Youtube recording above from 1:50-2:30). Having said that Anwar's words need closer attention, in particular his reference to disputes with Thailand and Brunei. Both have involved disputes over oil and gas exploration acreage and while these have been resolved, resolution has not necessarily been to Malaysia's advantage. Some in Malaysia consider the Malaysia Thai Joint Development agreement a triumph of diplomacy over economics for it gave Thialand access to oil and gas located in the Malay Basin which is mostly located in Malaysian wate., The deal with Brunei enetered into by then Prime Miniser Badawi was torn up by Prime Minister Mahathir Moahamad when he became prime minister for the second time in 2018 (see story below).
Anwar's words suggest that he may be preparing the ground for a Thai or Brunei type agreement with China, quite likely over acreage in the Luconia Shoals area. Quite apart from the potential economic loss to Malaysia , a deal such as that with China will give the PRC recognition from at least Malaysia over the southern most point of its disputed Nine Dash Line.
END
Monday, March 2, 2020
Mahathir terminated Badawi's bad Brunei oil agreement ; Muhyiddin should not restore that bad deal
(Source:Were Blocks L and M previously part of Malaysia, revisited)
Energy Reporters has said:
Malaysia has cancelled a cross-border deal with Brunei to develop oil and gas fields along their shared maritime boundary.
Malaysian sources said state-owned Petronas had halted discussions earlier this month on collaboration over several drilling projects straddling the maritime boundary or within the Malaysia-Brunei Commercial Arrangement Area.
Malaysia has purportedly complained about the proposed revenue split, which was agreed by the previous government before the May 2018 general election.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 94, since returning to power as head of his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition has reportedly taken a tough approach with Brunei and demanded a better deal.
The Brunei deal was in fact former PM Badawi's doing,and taken further by Najib. The new Muhyiddin government should not restore that bad deal.
END
Malaysia pulls plug on cross-border Brunei projects
By Energy Reporters | 29.02.2020 | Production
Malaysia has cancelled a cross-border deal with Brunei to develop oil and gas fields along their shared maritime boundary.
Malaysian sources said state-owned Petronas had halted discussions earlier this month on collaboration over several drilling projects straddling the maritime boundary or within the Malaysia-Brunei Commercial Arrangement Area.
Malaysia has purportedly complained about the proposed revenue split, which was agreed by the previous government before the May 2018 general election.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 94, since returning to power as head of his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition has reportedly taken a tough approach with Brunei and demanded a better deal.
Brunei is supposedly keen to restart negotiations and develop a new source of natural gas.
The BP World Energy Outlook forecast that at its current pace of extraction, Brunei will have no hydrocarbon resources left in 15 years.
PetroleumBrunei is purportedly looking to work with Petronas to develop a group of gas-rich fields to supply the Brunei liquefied natural gas terminal at Lumut.
Declining hydrocarbon incomes are hurting Brunei, which is accustomed to extreme wealth. The tiny state has the world’s largest residential palace. Approximately US$1.4 billion was spent by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah on his home, which has 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms and 7,000 luxury vehicles in more than 100 garages.
This year unemployment is projected to rise to approximately 9.1 per cent, the highest level in Southeast Asia, despite the attraction of 0 per cent income tax. But foreigners continue to arrive, mainly from India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, to take up jobs the indigenous population does not want.
The authorities in Brunei offer residents free health care, free education and housing development programmes.
This generous welfare state will be under threat if new oil and gas sources are not found.
In October last year, France’s oil and gas giant Total agreed to sell its near 87-per-cent stake in a maritime block to Royal Dutch Shell for US$300 million. The agreement has now been delayed amid the bilateral wrangling with Malaysia.
A solution after this week looks far more distant as Mahathir has created a political crisis by bringing down the ruling PH coalition, leaving Malaysia’s royal leaders to try to establish a new government.
The dispute has created uncertainty for fossil fuel firms operating within Malaysian territory, which is expected to affect extraction investment in the future.
The delays will limit oil and gas production growth, reducing income for the Malaysian and Bruneian authorities.
No comments:
Post a Comment