Kuala Lumpur: Sarawak secured RM96.2 billion in financial benefits from its oil and gas (O&G) industry up till last year, thanks to lucrative deals with national oil corporation Petronas, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat.
Anwar said the development of the O&G industry in Sarawak, including investments in upstream activities and infrastructure since 1976, has yielded RM280 billion in benefits for the state.
“Petronas has fulfilled its duty in ensuring the distribution of resources to all states,” he added.
Anwar said that just last year, Sarawak received RM49 billion in cash payments as of December.
“(Apart from that, it also received) RM18.66 billion in sales tax as of Q3 2024, and RM28.6 billion in dividends from its shareholding in Malaysia LNG (MLNG) as of December 2024, bringing the total to RM96.2 billion,” he said.
MLNG is a Petronas company that operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facilities in Bintulu, among the world’s largest. The Sarawak government has a stake in the company.
The business community has also reaped its share of the benefits.
Anwar said Sarawak-based vendors have secured more than RM40 billion in contracts over the past decade, ensuring that much of the O&G industry’s economic benefits remain within the state.
Anwar said under the Distribution of Gas Ordinance 2016, set to take effect on March 1, state-owned petroleum company Petros will take on a bigger role in managing the state’s gas resources.
He said the agreement between the federal and Sarawak governments will see Petros receive 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day for domestic needs, with provisions for additional supply based on future needs.
Apart from that, Anwar said Petronas has made direct contributions to education and workforce development in Sarawak, investing over RM600 million in the past 10 years.
He said the funds have supported 680,000 Sarawakians through scholarships and training programmes for teachers, 4,300 locals in securing employment within Petronas and other skills training for the workforce.
The Sarawak government has long pushed for greater control over its natural resources, with demands to revise agreements related to revenue from oil under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
