Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

KOTA KINABALU: Petronas has announced a stronger push into Sabah’s upstream oil and gas sector, with renewed emphasis on frontier basins, deepwater projects, and gas monetisation.

At the 12th Sabah Oil, Gas and Energy Conference and Exhibition (SOGCE) 2025, Petronas Senior Vice President Datuk Bacho Pilong (pic) said the Semporna Basin will be renamed the Tawau Basin to reflect growing interest in Sabah’s southeastern offshore prospects.

The company will invest RM500 million annually until 2030 in basin exploration and development, including making 3D seismic data for Block SB505 freely available to qualified bidders.

New exploration finds - Megah-1, Bilit Deep-1, and Zoisit-1 - could support domestic gas supply beyond 2030, while deepwater projects such as GK-GJE Phase 4 represent cross-border collaboration with Brunei.

Further downstream, Petronas has begun gas delivery to Esteel Sabah’s low-carbon steel plant and expects Sabah’s third floating LNG facility, ZLNG, to begin operations by 2027.