BY NATASHA JEE & NURA V LORNA
KUCHING: Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) has reaped nearly RM3 trillion from Sarawak’s oil and gas resources up to 2023.
The state’s legal counsel Datuk Seri JC Fong said based on the figures up to the end of 2023, the value of petroleum taken from Sarawak by the national oil and gas company was about RM850 billion, covering only upstream petroleum and excluding liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“Meanwhile, LNG sales from 1990 to 2023 amounted to almost RM2 trillion. So, overall, revenues from Sarawak’s oil and gas up to 2023 are nearly RM3 trillion,” he said in a statement last night.
His remarks came in response to an online article entitled “The Chinese Fuzhou hidden hands behind Sarawak’s gas aggregator ambition EXPOSED.”
The former Sarawak attorney-general however said from 1975 to 2024, Sarawak only gets a total royalty of 5 per cent for petroleum received by the state.
“Now, since the state government exercises its executive authority over distribution of gas, Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (PETROS) shall be the sole gas aggregator in Sarawak.
“By regaining control over the distribution of gas in Sarawak, the state government wants to ensure that the gas produced in Sarawak will benefit its people,” he said.
He also said Sarawakians want due respect from PETRONAS for the state’s losses, sustainable use of its gas resources, and adequate gas allocation to support Sarawak’s Gas Roadmap.
In February this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Sarawak has received over RM96 billion in financial benefits from its oil and gas industry up to 2024.
According to The Edge in a news report, this included RM49 billion in cash payments and RM28.6 billion in dividends from the state government’s shareholding through the State Financial Secretary of Sarawak in Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd (MLNG) as of December 2024.
Anwar was also quoted as saying that Sarawak received RM18.66 billion in sales tax as of the third quarter of last year.
