THE petroleum reserves for oil and gas resources in the country can only last for another 15 years, Azalina Othman Said said.

In a written parliamentary reply, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said according to the Reserves Life Index calculation, as of January 1, 2022, Malaysia’s probable and proven reserves of petroleum were equivalent to a total of 6.9 billion barrels of oil.

She, however, said the situation could be improved if there were better technology and investments in place.

“This situation can be improved to stretch over 40 years with high capital investment, new technology, as well as a more stable and competitive investment landscape.

“Of the overall oil and gas fields in the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak, 70% had been awarded to companies for exploration and development,” the Pengerang lawmaker said.

She was responding to a question from Mohd Shahar Abdullah (Paya Besar-BN).

Azalina also said a study and data gathering is being conducted on unexplored blocks to be offered in the next Malaysia Bid Round (MBR).

She also said that Petronas was developing the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) on a 2,551ha land, covering an oil refinery plant with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, a petrochemical plant with a capacity of 3.6 million tonnes per year, a co-generation plant, a re-gasification terminal, as well as crude oil and petroleum products storage tanks.

“Petronas’ investment in the PIC development, including PRefChem, which is an oil refinery and petrochemical plants joint venture with Saudi Aramco, amounts to RM109.6 billion,” she added. – March 29, 2023.