Latest news with #SabahIntegratedOilandGasProject
Borneo Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Borneo Post
Former SOGDC CEO refutes Masidi's claims on Sabah oil and gas progress
Abdul Kadir Abdullah Damsal KOTA KINABALU (July 12): A former senior figure in Sabah's oil and gas industry has pushed back against recent remarks by Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, calling him 'misleading' and lacking historical context in relation to the state's petroleum development. In a press statement, former Chief Executive Officer of Sabah Oil and Gas Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (SOGDC) Abdul Kadir Abdullah Damsal and a practising lawyer questioned Masidi's claim that Sabah's oil and gas sector only began to evolve following the establishment of SMJ Energy (SMJE) in 2021. Abdul Kadir asserted that long before SMJE came into the picture, several state-linked companies had already been actively involved in the industry. These included Sabah Energy Corporation (SEC), Sabah International Petroleum (SIP), subsidiaries under Yayasan Sabah and SOGDC itself. He credited much of the earlier momentum to the then-Barisan Nasional (BN) administration, noting that Petronas had, under a period of political stability, launched the Sabah Integrated Oil and Gas Project (SIOGP) in 2014, an initiative involving investments totalling nearly RM54 billion. 'These projects laid the foundation for Sabah's current oil and gas infrastructure, created thousands of jobs and supported local engineering and service firms,' he said. He also pointed to the formation of a Joint Working Committee (JWC) between the State Government and Petronas, which he said facilitated increased gas allocations to Sabah and significantly boosted local capacity development, including the appointment of a Sabahan as CEO of Petronas' Sabah Ammonia Urea (SAMUR) plant. 'Contrary to recent claims, the industry was not dormant prior to the formation of SMJE. Sabahans have long played a critical role in the oil and gas sector, without resorting to political pressure on local entities such as SAMUR,' he said. Abdul Kadir also cast doubt on the claim that Sabah-based oil and gas firms secured RM2 billion worth of Petronas contracts in 2024, suggesting the figure could be misleading without proper breakdown. 'The contracts may not necessarily have been awarded within Sabah alone and the public deserves clarity on how much actually went to genuinely Sabahan-owned firms,' he added. Touching on SMJE's reported RM362 million profit in 2024, Abdul Kadir clarified that the figure represented group earnings, not solely derived from its upstream interest in the Samarang field. 'A significant portion of that profit came from SIP's 10 per cent equity in LNG Train 9 in Bintulu, a deal initiated during the BN administration and finalised under Warisan,' he explained. He went on to highlight that other state-owned entities including Suria Capital, Sawit Kinabalu and Qhazanah Sabah, have long operated as billion-ringgit asset-based companies, stressing that SMJE's growth should not be portrayed as an isolated success story. Abdul Kadir concluded by urging the State Government to present a more accurate narrative to the public. 'Sabahans deserve the truth, not exaggerated claims or selectively curated retellings of the state's economic journey,' he concluded.
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Former top state oil official disputes Masidi's claims on SMJ Energy's role
KOTA KINABALU: An ex-top Sabah oil and gas official has disputed claims by state Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun ( pic ) about the state's petroleum development timeline, calling them 'misleading' and lacking historical context. Former Sabah Oil & Gas Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (SOGDC) chief executive officer Abdul Kadir Abdullah Damsal said it was inaccurate to suggest that Sabah's oil and gas industry only began to evolve with the establishment of SMJ Energy (SMJE) in 2021. He highlighted that several government-linked companies (GLCs), including Sabah Energy Corporation (SEC), Sabah International Petroleum (SIP), Yayasan Sabah subsidiaries and SOGDC itself, were actively involved in the sector well before SMJE was formed. Abdul Kadir, who is also a practising lawyer, credited past progress to the previous Barisan Nasional government, saying that PETRONAS launched the Sabah Integrated Oil and Gas Project (SIOGP) in 2014 during a time of political stability, with investments totalling nearly RM54bil. 'These projects laid the foundation for Sabah's current oil and gas infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs and supporting local engineering and service firms,' he said in a statement on Saturday (July 12). He also mentioned the establishment of the Joint Working Committee between Sabah and PETRONAS, which he said led to more gas being allocated to the state and efforts to build local capacity, such as appointing a Sabahan as the chief executive officer of the PETRONAS' SAMUR plant. 'Contrary to recent claims, the industry was not dormant before SMJE. Sabahans have long played important roles in oil and gas operations, without needing to apply political pressure to so-called 'Sabahan entities' like SAMUR,' he added. Abdul Kadir further questioned recent statements that Sabah-based oil and gas firms received RM2bil worth of PETRONAS contracts in 2024. He said this figure could be misleading without a proper breakdown and called for clarity on how much was actually awarded to locally owned Sabah firms. On SMJE's reported RM362mil profit in 2024, he claimed this was a group figure, and not solely due to SMJE's upstream involvement in Samarang. Instead, he said much of the profit came from SIP's 10% equity in LNG Train 9 in Bintulu, a deal initiated under the Barisan administration and signed during Parti Warisan's time in power. He also said that other state-owned companies such as Suria Capital, Sawit Kinabalu and Qhazanah Sabah have long operated as billion-ringgit asset-backed firms, and urged that SMJE's growth not be portrayed as a standalone success story. Abdul Kadir also called on the state government to provide a more accurate narrative to the public. 'Sabahans deserve the truth, not exaggerated claims or selective retelling of the state's economic development,' he said.
Daily Express
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Express
Ex-SOGDC CEO refutes Masidi's claims on SMJ Energy's role in Oil & Gas
Published on: Friday, July 11, 2025 Published on: Fri, Jul 11, 2025 Text Size: Kadir (left) challenged Masidi's (right) assertion that Sabah's oil and gas industry only began to turn around with the formation of SMJ Energy (SMJE) in 2021. Kota Kinabalu: A former senior Sabah oil and gas official refuted recent remarks by State Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, calling them 'misleading' and lacking historical context regarding the state's petroleum development. Abdul Kadir Abdullah Damsal, former CEO of Sabah Oil & Gas Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (SOGDC) and a practicing advocate and solicitor, challenged the Finance Minister's assertion that Sabah's oil and gas industry only began to turn around with the formation of SMJ Energy (SMJE) in 2021. Abdul Kadir pointed out that multiple state-linked companies, including Sabah Energy Corporation (SEC), Sabah International Petroleum (SIP), Yayasan Sabah subsidiaries and SOGDC itself, were actively engaged in the sector well before SMJE's establishment. He credited the state's earlier momentum to the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration, noting that Petronas, encouraged by political stability at the time, launched the Sabah Integrated Oil and Gas Project (SIOGP) in 2014 — an initiative involving investments totalling close to RM54 billion. 'These projects laid the groundwork for Sabah's current oil and gas infrastructure, creating thousands of jobs and supporting local engineering and services companies,' he said in a statement. Abdul Kadir also emphasised that a Joint Working Committee (JWC) was formed to facilitate cooperation between the state and Petronas. This collaboration reportedly led to increased gas allocations for Sabah and significant progress in local capacity building, including the appointment of Sabahan CEOs at Petronas' Sabah Ammonia Urea (Samur) plant. 'Contrary to claims, the industry did not lie dormant until SMJE arrived. In fact, Sabahans have long played key roles in oil and gas operations, without resorting to political pressure tactics to 'Sabahanise' entities like Samur,' he stated. He further criticised the assertion that Sabah-based oil and gas firms secured RM2 billion worth of Petronas contracts in 2024, describing the figure as potentially misleading without a proper breakdown. 'The contracts may not have been awarded solely within Sabah, and the public deserves clarity on how much was awarded to truly local, wholly Sabahan-owned firms,' Abdul Kadir said. On the matter of SMJE's financial performance, Abdul Kadir claimed that the company's reported RM362 million profit in 2024 was a group figure and not solely attributable to its upstream stake in the Samarang field. 'Significant contributions came from SIP's 10 per cent equity in LNG Train 9 in Bintulu — a deal initiated during the BN government and completed under Warisan,' he said. He also noted that other state-owned entities, such as Suria Capital, Sawit Kinabalu, and Qhazanah Sabah, have long operated as billion-ringgit asset-based corporations, suggesting that SMJE's growth should not be portrayed as an isolated success story. Abdul Kadir urged the State Government to present a more accurate narrative to the public. 'The people of Sabah deserve the truth — not exaggerated claims or selective retellings of the state's economic development,' he said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
