Petronas to offer 13 offshore exploration blocks at upcoming bid exercise

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's state energy firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, on Friday said it will offer 13 offshore exploration blocks in Malaysia's "highly proflic basins" at its upcoming annual bid exercise.

The Malaysia Bid Round (MBR), aimed at attracting investors to undertake more extensive exploration activities, will launch on Feb. 26.

Petronas said among the blocks offered are six discovered fields, and four deepwater blocks adjacent to the coast of the state of Sarawak and Sabah which saw prominent exploration discoveries in recent years.

"MBR 2021 will feature significant enhancements which include larger block areas coupled with flexible bidding options and low entry costs," said Mohamed Firouz Asnan, senior vice president of Malaysia Petroleum Management, which acts for and on behalf of Petronas in the overall management of Malaysia's domestic petroleum resources.

Petronas will also be offering relatively new fiscal terms to be applied in the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) such as Enhanced Profitability (EPT) for the shallow water blocks, the Late Life Assets (LLA) and Small Field Assets (SFA), he added.

An analyst said these would offer more flexible terms to entice more bids.

Petronas said while MBR focuses on exploration blocks, the opportunities around late life assets and small fields are made available progressively throughout the year.