How PETROS’s playbook could spawn PETROB, PETROK, and PETROT
The stakes are huge—Petronas has earned between RM10 billion and RM20 billion annually from Sarawak’s gas exports. Now, the national oil giant faces a swift reality check, as its once-solid control over the entire supply chain starts to dissolve.
(Politikonomi) – One can’t dive into Sarawak’s quest for oil independence without glancing at the other oil-rich states, namely Sabah, Kelantan, and Terengganu, all of whom might be eyeing their own slice of the petroleum pie.
Right now, Sarawak is in a full-court press to grant Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (PETROS) the rights to act as its own gas aggregator. This power move would effectively let PETROS—not Petronas—set the rules for buying, selling, pricing, and distributing liquid natural gas (LNG) in Sarawak.
Petronas’s hold on Sarawak’s gas industry is slipping fast. With PETROS stepping in as the “gas aggregator,” all Sarawak-produced gas now flows through Petros, not Petronas.
The stakes are huge—Petronas has earned between RM10 billion and RM20 billion annually from Sarawak’s gas exports. Now, the national oil giant faces a swift reality check, as its once-solid control over the entire supply chain starts to dissolve.
It’s quite the flex, and the impact isn’t lost on Sabah, Kelantan, and Terengganu. One could argue Sarawak’s making it tempting for the others to develop their own PETROB, PETROK, and PETROT, as they watch and take notes from Sarawak’s playbook.
By carving out its autonomy and safeguarding its resources, Sarawak appears to be doing a few bold things.
First off, this isn’t merely a standoff with the federal government; it’s a statement to every other state as well. Petronas’s funds come from Malaysia’s oil and gas assets, providing for all Malaysians.
So, by locking up its own resources, Sarawak is effectively signalling to the rest of Malaysia that shared prosperity may not be as reciprocal as they once thought.
